Fallen Angels
by Riley-Mizfit
Summary: In the sequel to Reunited Again, the angels have fallen. Yes you read that correct, the angels, all of them in heaven have fallen to Earth. Now they must live amongst the human race. While they struggle to adjust to life as humans, Sam, Brooke and Dean have to figure out how they can take down Metatron and restore all the angels to the world above.
1. Prologue

**_Just like the previous story, Reunited Again...here's a disclaimer. I do not own any of the characters of Supernatural. The only character I own is Brooke. Also like the previous story, I go by the episodes of the season and just add my own things to it. It's easier for me to write that way, and if you don't like that, stop reading NOW._**

* * *

><p>So here we are. Where Sam, Dean and Brooke last left off, Angels were falling to earth in fireballs because Metatron had taken over heaven in a very sneaky fashion. Castiel was expelled first, stripped of his powers, turned human before he was sent back down from heaven. Thousands upon thousands of Angels followed in his wake. Before all this came to be, it started with Dean coming out from Purgatory. All three had then set out to find Kevin Tran. Eventually his mother got involved in everything, and she was put in danger a lot. Basically the group had been chasing this table that would close the gates of hell forever, all the demons being trapped there once again, never being able to come back out and possess anyone. Aside from that, they did the usual cases of kookiness and creepiness. The things they came across however...teens turning into wolves, vampires, Olympus gods, a golem..hell they even went through to really crazy stuff. Like the world was a cartoon, video game nightmares, even LARPing in medieval times. Whatever kept them busy. Castiel was acting weird to them at first, and it was just one big mess. That was until Metatron got into the picture and fooled everything into thinking that he was there to help them, when in reality he was just getting them to trust him, so that he could carry out his plan of taking over heaven. And Sam's life was saved somewhat, because if he had killed Crowley he would be dead right now. But he still is in a severe amount of pain and they don't know what's happening to him. So that leads them to now, where who knows what will unfold now that the angels have fallen to earth to live amongst the humans.<p> 


	2. I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here

_So where we last left off with Dean, myself and Sam. We were trying to close the gates of Hell, only to find out that killing Crowley was a bad idea as Sam would die if he tried closing the gates of Hell. Dean and I had made it back just in time to stop Sam and save his life, but in the time being, Metatron had stolen Castiel's grace and expelled all angels from Heaven, making them all fall to earth. _

_"This makes no sense. I mean, how many angels fell? Hundreds? Thousands? And nobody sees anything?" Sam asks. "This is...look at this. They're calling it a meteor shower. Seriously? What's going on man, you okay?"_

_"Me? Yeah. It's fine."_

_"It's just we got a major freaking crap fest on our hands. Thousands of super powered dicks touching down and we got no idea what started it."_

_"Angels aren't our problem now. Or demons. Or Metatron, or whatever the hell happened to Cas."_

_"Why? Because we hugged it out in that church? And now we're gonna go to Disneyland? Dean, you said it yourself. We're not gonna sleep till this is done."_

_"I know."_

_"So what's the problem?"_

_"You. Look, there's no easy way to say this okay? Something happened back there, in the church. I don't know what, I don't know why. You're dying Sam."_

_"Shut up."_

**Present Time**

What was happening there, was Sam's mind. He's in a coma and that's what his mind is showing him as he tries to get out of it. Dean and I were sitting bedside in the hospital room, watching over him. The TV was on and I was watching it as the news was on and the falling angels was being described as a meteor shower, globally. Dean had gotten up and looked at the scans of Sam's brain, while I sat there in the chair next to the bed.

"Dean...I'm sure he's gonna be fine. I mean people wake up from comas all the time."

Before he could respond, the doctor comes in, explaining what we're seeing in the scans.

"The MRI shows excessive internal burns, affecting many of the major organs. Oxygen to the brain has been severely deprived. The coma is the result of the body doing everything in it's limited power to protect itself from further harm."

"This wasn't suppose to happen."

"If your brother continues on this projectory, the machines might keep him alive but..."

"...he'll be dead."

"Technically, yes. I'm afraid so."

"So there's no recovery? There's no bouncing back, there's no nothing."

"I'm afraid that's in God's hands now."

"You're a doctor. You're a medical professional. You're trying to tell me that my brother's life is in God's hands? What, is that supposed to be a comfort? God has nothing to do with this equation at all."

"I didn't mean-"

"-that's not good enough!"

With that he walks out of the room, leaving me and the doctor with Sam. I sigh and get up from the chair and follow him out into the hallway.

"Dean." I say as he looks at the doorway with the sad look on his face. "We just have to stay strong through this. I know it's hard, but don't you think Sam would want this? Staying strong for him that is."

"He's my little brother Brooke. I can't lose him...not again." He simply says as he turns and looks down the hall, then up at a sign hanging that says 'Chapel'.

"What is it?" I ask as I follow his gaze. "But the angels have been expelled from Heaven...even Cas."

"Doesn't mean they can't hear prayers." He says as he walks in that direction, and I follow.

The chapel has quite a few people, but Dean and I find a pew and sit.

"Cas you there? Sammy's hurt. He's hurt pretty bad. And um...I know that you think I'm pissed at you...okay? But I don't care that the angels fell. Whatever you did, or didn't do...it doesn't matter. We'll work it out. Please man, we need you here."

After that he looks around, and there is no Cas in sight.

"Screw it. Okay listen up. This goes out to any angel with their ears on. This is Dean Winchester, and I need your help. The deal is this. I'm at the memorial hospital, Randolph, New York. The first one that helps me, gets my help in return, and you know that ain't nothing. It's no secret that we haven't always seen eye to eye. But you know that I'm good for my word. And I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't needed. So..."

**Sam's Coma**

_"Just because you're dying doesn't mean you're dead, not yet, OK? We have jimmied ourselves out of worse. We're gonna fight this. I got the plan, you just need to hang on. You hear me?"_

_"Absolutely."_

_"Think I'm lying."_

_"Pretty much, yeah."_

_"You understand that we're not really in this car right now. We are in your head. And you're in a coma and are dying."_

_"How do you know that?"_

_"Because I'm you. And you're you. All of this is you. We're in your head!"_

_"You're serious? The whole reason I stopped doing the trials was not to die."_

_"And next time we see Naomi or Metatron or whoever's to blame for this, we will get some justice. But for right now we gotta fight this man."_

_"Okay. Alright, what's the plan?"_

_"I'm working on it."_

_"What does that mean? I'm kinda...dying here apparently."_

_"It means I'm working on it, alright?"_

_"The thing is, if I am dying, and I believe you, I do. But if you're you, but you're really me and you're the part of me that wants to fight to live..."_

_"Yes. I have no idea what you just said, but continue."_

_"But if...you don't have any idea how I'm supposed to fight, then am I supposed to be fighting at all?"_

_"Are you serious?"_

_"Hell yes he's serious." Bobby says as he appears in the back seat. "And if you ask me, I think the kid's got a good point."_

**Longmont, Colorado**

Along a deserted road, was Cas and he could hear all the angels that fell, in result, almost getting run over, having to jump out of the way.

"Hey buddy, you okay?"

Cas looks down at his hand which was pretty cut up, as the guy in the truck comes over to check on him.

"It hurts."

"The hell you doing in the middle of the road like that?"

"I heard angels."

"How about we get you some water?"

"I...I don't drink water."

"Dehydration's a real bitch up here mister."

"A phone. Do you have a phone?"

"No signal up here. How about a lift?"

"Yes. Good. I would fly, but I have no wings. Not anymore."

"Right."

_"Sam wants to die, and you think he's got a point?"_

_"Alright, I don't want to die. I ask if I was supposed to-"_

_"-shut it Sam. You, go. Oh and uh before you throw me under the bus, you're welcome for the Hell rescue."_

_"Hey, first of all, you didn't rescue jack half-wit. Sam did. Second of all, Sam you're in a coma. Now suck as that may, sometimes that's just the way things go."_

_"What're you talking about? There's always a way. You taught us that!"_

_"Oh you mean like the way one of you idgits does some backwards crazy thing to beat death? Like sell your soul?"_

_"It's exactly like selling my soul!"_

_"Yeah like that worked so well the last time."_

_"Enough both of you, I can't hear myself think!"_

_"You're not actually buying this are you?"_

_"Excuse me, are you dead? Because I am, and maybe I'm here because I'm the part of Sam that actually knows what the hell he's talking about."_

_"Well I'm in the front seat, because Sam put me here, because he wants to fight. Right?"_

_And just then Bobby was in the front seat with both of them, in between them._

_"Well, that just got real uncomfortable. See ya Dean." He says, before grabbing Sam._

_"Sam, don't you dare-" Dean trails off as Bobby and Sam disappear from the car and are in the woods._

_"Yip yip yip. You alright?"_

_"Honestly Bobby, I don't know what's right."_

_"Let's walk."_

Meanwhile, Cas gets dropped off at a local gas station.

"Hey." The man says, holding money out to him.

"No, I can't take your money."

"The phone...a sandwich if they have one."

"That's okay I don't-"

"-you'll figure something. Take care kid."

Cas walks across the street to the station, and finds a phone booth with it being occupied by a biker.

"Hang up the phone."

"'scuse me?"

"This is an emergency. I don't want to hurt you."

"Hold on hun." He says into the phone. "Sure you do. Hurt me."

"I'm sorry." Cas states before putting his fingers to the guy's forehead, nothing happens and does the same with his whole hand, but nothing happens either.

"I'm gonna finish this call, then I'm gonna stab you." The guy says and Cas nods and walks away.

"I know you." A girl states as he walks by her.

"I don't think so."

"Castiel. We met in heaven. My name is Hael."

"You're an angel?"

"Am I? What's an angel without it's wings?"

In the meantime, after the angel-wide prayer that Dean sent out, we made our way back to the room and sat there like we have been. After a while, a woman walks in. Dean immediately thinks she's one of the angels that he called to help.

"Hey. I'm just gonna break the ice. Are you an angel?"

"Um...sometimes I wish I were. My name is Kim Short, I'm a grief counselor in the hospital."

"I...I'm sorry...just tired. With all due respect, but uh...I'm not grieving..not yet at least...so..."

"I'm afraid as hard as this might be, it's a good time to talk...about the inevitable."

"Look, I'm sure you're a nice person and that you mean well, but...inevitable? That's a fighting word where I come from. There's always a way."

"And I'm a prayer-ful woman who believes in miracles as much as the next. But I also know how to read an EEG, unless you're telling me you have a direct line to those angels you're looking for?"

"Yeah..I guess I don't. But I might have something better. I've got the King of Hell in my trunk." He states as he leaves the room.

I kind of roll my eyes and sigh, following him out, giving the lady an apologetic look for his actions.

"Is that...sorry, is that a metaphor?"

He makes it out to the parking lot, with me trailing behind him.

"Crowley. Listen up you son of a bitch. One for yes, two for know. You alive?" Dean asks, but gets no response. "Come on, don't be a pouter." And of course that gets one knock. "There we go." He says as he goes to open the trunk.

I reach Dean just as he's grabbed from behind, a knife held to his neck by a man in a suit.

"Dean!"

"You prayed?"

"Yeah, for help."

"Yes. You'll be helping me."

"If you lied to me Dean Winchester, I will rip your throat out."

"And then I'll make sure I'll kill you." I remark.

"You stay out of this. Unless you want to die too. Where is Castiel?"

"Who's asking?" Dean asks.

"Try every angel who was ejected from their home."

"Oh, well in that case I have no clue."

He then proceeds to slam Dean against the trunk of the Impala several times, and goes to kill him.

"No!" I scream, but then he's stopped by someone else.

"Easy there brother. This young man has prayed for our assistance. Are we creatures of wrath? Or compassion? I would argue the ladder."

"Forgive me brother. I don't recognize you."

"Happy to make your re-acquaintance. After you disarm."

He lets Dean go, but only in favor of punching the other guy in the face, which I can only assume is another angel, but the way he was talking to the other one.

"Come now. Is that any way to treat a brother injured in the fall?"

A fight ensues between the two, I carefully make my way over to Dean's side as we watch the two angels fight each other. The one in the suit had dropped his knife and I motion to Dean towards it. He nods and gets up, killing the angel in the suit before he could do anymore damage to his brother.

"Who are you?" Dean asks the still living one.

"Never mind me. Your Dean Winchester. I heard your prayer. And I am here to help." He states, before collapsing.

"Okay."

Meanwhile, Cas was sitting at the gas station still, talking with Hael.

"It was a normal day and just dark. And then I was falling. How can that happen?"

"I don't know."

"Your grace it's...gone?"

"I can still hear angel radio though."

"Then you've heard them. Our brothers and sisters. Many still circling for vessels, just so afraid."

"There's nothing to be afraid of. I can assure you."

"But...Heaven there was order, there was...purpose."

"Well believe it or not, there may be something even better down here."

"I don't understand."

"There's opportunity for you and others who've fallen to finally do what you would like to do. Not just what you've been told."

"And what would I...like to do?"

"You tell me. If you could do anything, what would it be?"

"There's a place. I built it while I was last here. Many years ago. A grand canyon."

"The Grand Canyon, yes."

"I would like to see that."

"Let's go see The Grand Canyon then."

With the angel that Dean and I now have on our hands, we've decided to trap inside a circle of fire, until we get some answers out of him. It takes a bit, but he finally wakes from passing out.

"You want to help? Start with a name."

"Ezekiel."

"Alright Ezekiel. How do I know you're not hunting me, Brooke, or Castiel like the other angels?"

"Oh I'm sure there are many angels who are. Many more are on their way here most likely."

"How do you know that?"

"You put out an open prayer like that."

"I must really be desperate."

"It's for Sam, Dean. You had to do what you had to do." I remark.

"Believe it or not, some of us still do believe in our mission. And that means we believe in Castiel and you."

"You said you were hurt during the fall."

"I was. Entangling with my brother back there did me no favors. But what strength I have left, I offer to you."

_"I wanna fight, I do. I just feel like..."_

_"...like you got nothing to swing at? You're punching at shadows? You gotta let go of the fight. Scratch it. Looking for loopholes, because that ain't happening."_

_"So...so what, I eventually just die?"_

_"Just die. All the good you've done, all the people you saved, all the sacrifices you made. You saved the world son. How many people can say that? How many people can say that they've left this god forsaken hunk of dirt that much a better place? What you call dying, I call leaving a legacy."_

After letting Ezekiel free, he follows us into the hospital and back into Sam's room, where he's still in his coma. Ezekiel goes over and place a hand on him to see how strong he is, and what's wrong.

"You still able to cure things? After the fall?"

"Yes I should be, but...he's so weak."

"Well he took on a lot." I nod, just as Dean's phone goes off.

"Who is this?"

"Dean..."

Dean's eyes widen and he excuses himself from the room to talk.

"Cas, what the hell's going on?"

"Metatron tricked me. It wasn't an angel trial, it was a spell. I wanted you to know that."

"Okay that's great, but we got ourselves a problem."

"What's wrong?"

"Sam...he's um...they say he's dying."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. At first he was okay, and then he wasn't, and then...have you heard my prayers? I've been praying to you all night."

"Dean, Metatron, he...he took my grace."

"What?!"

"Don't worry about me. What are you doing for Sam?"

"Everything I can. There's actually another angel in there working on him right now."

"What other angel?"

"Oh, his name is Ezekiel, he's cool. I mean I think he is. "

"Ezekiel. Yes. He's a good soldier. He should be able to help until I get there."

"No no no. Hey, that's not an option."

"Might be a few days but-"

"-hey, Cas listen to me. There are angels out there okay? And they're looking for you and they're pissed."

"Not all of them Dean. Some are just looking for direction. Some are just lost."

"What are you talking about?"

"I met one. I think I can help her Dean."

"No, Cas. I know you want to help okay, I do. But helping angels is what got you in trouble in the first place. Now I'm begging you for once, look out for yourself. Until we figure out what the hell is going on, trust nobody."

"And do what? Just abandon them all?"

"Damn it Cas, you hearing yourself? There's a war on and it's on you. There's thousands of them out there...you said you lost your grace right? That means you're human. That means that you bleed and you eat and you sleep, all the things you never had to worry about before."

"I'm fine Dean."

Just then the whole hospital starts to shake violently.

"Whoa."

"What's going on?"

"I think we got more company. Look, get your ass to the bunker. Alone, you hear me?"

"Dean.."

"Go Cas."

"Dean."

"Dean, what's going?" I ask as he comes back into the room.

"Angels. One of yours?" He asks Ezekiel.

"Trying to secure a vessel. We need to move."

"We can't move."

"No no, if we move him, he dies."

"Exactly."

"If we stay, we could all die."

Dean looks around until he comes across a dry erase board with markers.

"Brooke, here, help me." He says, grabbing the markers, tossing me one.

"What do you want me to do with this?"

"Draw the symbols to protect the room. No angels are getting in or out of here." He says as he starts to draw the symbols.

I nod and start going around the room myself.

"I don't understand." Hael says to Cas after he explains that he can't go to the Grand Canyon. "I'll come with you. We can see your friend together."

"It's complicated. There could be trouble. It's best if I go alone. My friend..he needs my help."

"I need help."

"You can do this Hael. This is your chance to help people. Help yourself. I'm sorry." He says before walking away.

She picks up a board and hits him across the back of the head, which in result stops him. Between Dean I however, with both of us drawing the symbols, we get the whole room covered.

"As long as these are up, no angels are coming in, no one's coming out. You gonna be okay?"

"I'll manage."

"What?"

"They're here."

"Okay. Brooke you stay here. Do not open this door or anybody but me. Save him, you hear me?" Dean demands as he leaves the room. Just as he goes down the hall, glass shatters everywhere, meaning the angels were there. He pulls the fire alarm to evacuate the hospital. "Everybody out! Now! Get out!"

With Cas and Hael, she's put him in a car and started to drive him down the road and he soon comes to.

"You understand that I couldn't just let you leave. I'd be lost without you Castiel."

"Yes I'm beginning to see that."

"It's the least I can give you, considering well...this is all your fault isn't it. Making the angels fall? So, we'll drive to the Grand Canyon, you'll tell me more about humans. And I'll show you what I'm capable of. We're going to become more than just friends Castiel. We're going to become one."

"You want to possess me."

"Your vessel is strong. This one won't hold me much longer. You were right Castiel. With us together, I think I could learn to like it here."

Dean finds the grief counselor on the floor covered in glass, so he helps her up.

"Hey, you've got to get out of here. Come on. Whoa. Stay behind me."

And just then she attacks Dean, holding him in the air by his throat.

"Or not."

_"There it is. Everything inside, you need to help you on your way. Go on son. I'll be waiting for you with a couple of cold ones."_

_Just then he gets stabbed, and Dean is revealed to have done it._

_"Sorry old man."_

_"Dean, are you insane?!"_

_"Come on Sammy. Bobby was the part of you that wants to die. I know it stings, but he had to go."_

_"No. You have to go. When are you gonna realize, it's over! There's nothing to fight for._

_"Now Sam, I know you don't believe that."_

_"Really? Then what's your plan Dean?"_

_"My plan..." He trails off, hitting him. "...my plan is to fight! My plan is to try! My plan is to give a damn! You tell me there's nothing, huh? You're telling me there's nothing to fight for? That there's nothing to hope for!"_

_"No, I'm telling you there is. You might not like it, you might not accept it, but it's in there. It's in that house."_

_"You know what's in that house! Now I can't help you, if you ain't willing to fight for yourself!"_

_"I know. It's okay. It's what I want."_

After being beat up just a bit, he's dragged away by the revealed angels, down the hall, a little groggy.

"Let me make this easy. Tell me where Castiel is, or your brother's gonna wish he were dead. And we'll kill your little girlfriend too."

"Good luck getting past the warding."

"But we will. And when we do, I'm gonna strip off all their skin, and you're gonna watch."

"Bite me."

She then hits him so hard he slides across the floor a bit.

"Hahaha. Anybody ever tell you, you hit like an angel?"

_Meanwhile with Sam's coma, he goes into the house, walking through it until he spots Death standing there by the fire. _

_"Hello Sam. I've been waiting for you."_

While Ezekiel and I were sitting by Sam's bedside, all of a sudden, there was a crack and an ax went through the door, initially breaking the warding on the door at least.

"They're breaking in...DEAN!"

"Okay, wait wait wait. I'll tell you where Cas is. I just have one question."

"Ask."

"If Heaven is locked, then where do you go when I do this?" He asks as he puts his bloody hand on a drawn symbol and the angels disappear.

"They're gone." I state in relief, but then the monitors start beeping like crazy and Ezekiel isn't looking too good.

"What's wrong?"

"The warding..."

"What the hell's happening?" Dean asks as he comes back in.

"This started...and the warding. I'm afraid I'm weaker than I thought. I am sorry Dean."

"No. No no no. No we had a deal okay? I fight, you save."

"I would if I could. I'm just afraid it's too late."

"You kidding me? Are you saying there's no way to save my brother's life?"

"No good ways I'm afraid."

"Well what are the bad ones? We're out of options here man, good or bad. Let me hear em'."

"I cannot promise, but there is chance I can fix your brother from the inside."

"From the inside."

"Possession?" I question.

"You want to possess Sam?"

"I told you."

"No way."

"It's your call."

"No, it's Sam's call."

"Dean he's not conscious. He can't make the call. I honestly think this is best for him. It's the only way to save him." I try to reason with him.

"There's no way in hell he'd say yes to being possessed by anything."

"You would rather die?"

Ezekiel stands and clears the monitors.

"I'll leave you three alone then." He states as he starts to leave.

"Dean..." I trail off, giving him a sympathetic look.

"Wait. If I consider this, and I mean just consider it, I need something man. You've got to prove to me how bad he is."

He nods and goes over, putting a hand on his forehead, and his other on Dean's.

"Close your eyes."

_"I must admit when I heard it was you, well I have to come myself."_

_"I bet you get off on this."_

_"Perhaps. Not in the way you assume. I consider it to be quite the honor to be collecting the likes of Sam Winchester. I try so hard not to pass judgment at times like this, not my bag you see, but you...well played my boy."_

_"I need to know one thing."_

_"Yes?"_

_"If I go with you, you promise...that this time, it will be final. That if I'm dead, I stay dead. Nobody can reverse it, nobody can deal it away, and nobody else can get hurt because of me."_

_"I can promise that."_

"What, what did you see?" I ask Dean as he comes back to reality.

"Sam...Death..." He trails off.

"Death's come for him in his coma?"

"What the hell are you doing Sam?"

"As you can see, there's not much time."

"I know. Damn it, I know."

"Wait, what are we gonna do then?"

While in the car with Hael, Cas sees the knife in her lap. He then grabs his seat belt and puts it on before turning the wheel and making them crash.

"How will it work?" Dean asks Ezekiel, on how he plans to help.

"Mutual. I heal Sam while healing myself."

"And when he's healed?"

"I leave. It's the best of a bad situation Dean."

"Even if I did say yes, it doesn't mean squat. Sam would never say yes, not to you. But he would say yes to you."

With the car crashed. Hael had been ejected through the windshield and thrown onto the ground, broken. Cas gets out of the car and walks around, seeing her on the ground as he picks the knife up.

"I don't want to hurt you. I didn't want to hurt any of them, I want to help you. I will devote my life to helping you all."

"Do you know how ridiculous you sound? Help angels? After what you did? They don't want your help Castiel, they want your head."

"You're wrong. I'm one of you. I will never stop being one of you."

"Don't you get it? Together I can protect you Castiel."

"I don't need you. I don't want your protection."

"If you leave me here in this broken girl, I swear it Castiel, I will tell them where you are. And they will hunt you until their last breath, they will seek revenge on the angel that did this, who destroyed Heaven."

"Stop."

"They will seek a vengeance on you that will make God striking down Lucifer seem like child's play."

"Will you stop it?"

"I will go on angel radio and tell them everything, unless you open your heart and say yes-" She gets stopped when he plunges the knife through her, killing her.

_"It's time Sam, shall we?"_

_"Hold on."_

_"Dean."_

_"It's okay Sam. I uh...would've brought cronuts, but time is short so..."_

_"By all means."_

_"What's going on?"_

_"I found a plan."_

_"It's too late. I'm going."_

_"No no. No no. Listen to me."_

_"No, why are you even here? I'm not fighting this anymore."_

_"You have to fight it. I can fix this, okay? But not if you shut me out. It's not his time."_

_"That's for Sam to decide."_

_"Sam listen to me. I made you a promise..in that church. You and me, come whatever. Well hell, if this this ain't whatever. But you gotta let me in man, you gotta let me help. There ain't no me, if there ain't no you."_

_"What do I do?"_

_"Is that a yes?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Come on." Dean states as he puts a hand on Sam's should and then transforms into Ezekiel and they disappear in a flash of white light._

Sam comes back, but he's in Ezekiel's body, Ezekiel is in Sam's body. We end up leaving before Sam wakes in Ezekiel's body. The doctor comes to check on Sam, only to find Ezekiel of course.

"Who are you? What the hell is going on here?"

"I have no idea."

"So? How's it look in there?"

"Not good. There's much work to be done."

"He's gonna wake up right?"

"He will."

"So what he does...what is he gonna fill you inside triaging his spleen?"

"He will not feel me no. There's no reason for Sam to know I'm in here at all."

"You're joking...no, this is too big."

"And what will he do if you do tell him he's possessed by an angel?"

"He'll have to understand."

"You know he's not good in that department Dean." I remark.

"And if he does not? Without his acceptance, Sam can eject me at any time. Especially with me so weak. And if Sam does eject me, he will die."

"Then we keep it a secret for now. Or until Sam is well enough where he doesn't need an angelic pacemaker. Or I find a way to tell him. As for him being in the hospital, I'll have to figure something out."

"Best thing to do." I nod. "Don't tell him until then."

"I can erase it all if you like. He will not remember any of this."

"Maybe that's for the best too."

Cas in the meantime has come to a laundry mat to wash his clothes. He uses the money he was given and goes over to one of the washers, putting his clothes inside. But that's when he notices the snack machine and he's stuck with a difficult decision. He then turns to see clothes laying in a basket and decides to take those instead and get a water from a nearby store. Dean, Sam and myself however are back in the Impala and back on the road again. It's been a long day so I decided to get some sleep while Dean drove. Sam too has woken up, himself, not Ezekiel.

"Where are we?" He asks.

"Whoa. Sam?"

"What?"

"Okay, take it easy. How're you uh...feeling?"

"Tired. Like I slept for a week."

"Well try a day. Been out since the sky was spitting angels."

"What the hell happened?"

"What do you remember?"

"The church, feeling like crap, the angels falling and that's it."

"But you're feeling good?"

"Yeah, I mean I just um...you've been driving around with me passed out in the passenger seat for a day?"

"I mean, I stopped. Let a few Japanese tourists take some pictures, nobody got too handsy. I knew you'd pull through. I meant what I said at the church. You're capable of anything, Sam. And hell if you didn't prove me right."

"Good. Because we got work to do."


	3. Devil May Care

Currently, there is this guy who's dragging a body bag through an abandoned house, and into the bathroom, where he places it in the bathtub. When he opens the bag, the charred remains of the said body is revealed. In the meantime, Dean, Sam and myself are at a rest stop for some down time. Dean's laying on top of a picnic table, arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed. I'm laying there as well, but with my head resting on his stomach. It's nice to get some down time after what we just went through.

"So, Cas is human?" Sam asks as he comes over and sits on top of the table, which in return causes Dean to open his eyes.

"..ish. I mean he's got no Grace, no wings, no…harp. Whatever the hell else he had." Dean replies after tapping me on the shoulder, silently telling me to move.

I do so and sit up, sitting next to Sam.

"Okay. Where'd he crash land?"

"Called me from a payphone from Longmont, Colorado. I told him just to make for the bunker."

"You think he can handle a road trip like that?"

"Cas is a big boy. Things go breaking bad, he knows our number. Alright, now I've got bigger worries."

"The fallen angels?"

"Yeah. I mean, thanks to Metatron, we now have a couple thousand confused loose nooks walking around out there."

"What do you think they're gonna do?"

"I have no damn clue."

"What about Crowley? You uh..." Sam trails off, motioning about killing him.

"Not exactly." I remark.

"I would've loved nothing better than to ice that limey bitch, but then I thought to myself: What would Sam Winchester do?"

"I'd have stabbed him in the brain."

"Oh. Well, I figured the King of Hell might know a few things, so why not Zero Dark Thirty his ass."

I snicker as we all move from the picnic table and go over to the trunk of the Impala.

"Wait, so Crowley is...alive?" Sam asks as the trunk gets opened to reveal Crowley just laying there, tied up.

"Oh yeah. He's the junk in my trunk."

"Literally." I smirk.

Meanwhile in the abandoned house, and in the bathroom, there were candles lit everywhere. The man who pulled in the body bag, had black smoke around him everywhere. He was a demon and he cut his wrist and bled onto the body in the tub. With a bright light, the smoke went into the tub and body. A hand then came up with red nails and the body..which was a woman...stood up...Abaddon. But after a long trip with us, we arrived back at the bunker, Sam and I were getting Crowley from the trunk while Dean went ahead and gone inside. When he walks in, an arrow gets shot up at him, just missing and hitting the banister.

"What the hell?"

"Dean? You're alive." Kevin remarks.

"Yeah, cause you're a crappy shot...Katniss." He says sarcastically as he pulls the arrow out of the wood.

"Sorry. It's been a bad couple of days. I haven't slept, I haven't eaten. I'm pretty backed up."

"Okay, over share."

"After we talked this place went nuts. There was some alarm and all the machines were freaking out and the bunker just locked down. I couldn't open the door, my cellphone stopped working, I thought the world was ending."

"Close. The angels fell."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing good. Listen, next time the world's ending, grab a gun. I got service." Dean says as he turns his phone on, and Kevin turns on the machines..

"It's back online. Maybe when you opened the door from the outside door, it reset the system."

"Yeah okay, let's go with that."

That's when Sam and I come in with Crowley. Bag over his head and the type of earmuffs that block out any sound.

"Hey, all good?"

"Is it ever. Come on."

We nod and head down the stairs and then to the back where all the files were and the secret dungeon. We sit Crowley in a chair in the middle of the Devil's Trap, but keep him tied up with the chains with the symbols on them and remove everything else...the bag and earmuffs, and then the duct tape over his mouth.

"Ahhh, hello." Crowley says, but gets punched in the face by Dean.

"Never get tired of doing that."

"Ughhhh. Tell me, where did you get this fantastic little tree house?"

"Alright, here's how it's gonna go. You're giving us the name of every demon on earth and the people they're possessing."

"Am I? Doesn't sound like me."

"I saw you break down Crowley. When I was trying to cure you, I know a part of you was still human again, maybe still is."

"Blah blah, boo hoo. Done? Good. 'Cause this is what I know. I'm not giving you anything. Why would I? You have no leverage darlings. You not gonna close the gates of Hell, but you didn't. You're not gonna kill me, because you haven't. So what's left?"

"We have a few ideas."

"Torture? Brilliant. Can't wait to see Sam in stilettos and a leather bustier, really putting the S.A.M. into S&M. Honestly, you three, what are you gonna do to me that I don't do to myself just for kicks every Friday night?"

We just smirk and walk out of the room.

"Leave you alone. Have fun sitting here by yourself in the dark." I remark, following Sam and Dean out.

"What's Crowley doing here?! Why isn't he dead?! Why aren't you stabbing him right now?!"

"Chill out Kevin, okay? We need him."

"Exactly." I nod.

"What?"

"Kevin look, if we can get Crowley to give us the name of every demon he's got topside, we can hunt them down. All of them."

"He will break. And when he does, we'll hold him down while you knife him. Then we all go out for ice cream and strippers."

"Except for me. The ice cream I'll do though." I point out. "You three can go have that fun though."

"Just stay away from him alright?"

"So now what?"

"I gotta go make some phone calls. You need to hit the angel tablet, see if you can find anything on that spell that Metatron used to empty out Heaven."

"Yeah, maybe we can reverse it before the god squad too much damage."

"Yeah if we're lucky. Check the net for anything angely.

"Or demony."

"Or monstery or ghosty. It's gonna be a busy year."

"No kidding." I nod as Sam and I go off in one direction and Kevin in the other, while Dean starts making the phone calls.

"My name is Abaddon. But enough about me, let's talk you. Jason tells me you're all violent, power hungry opportunists." She says to the demons in front of her in this abandoned house.

"So maybe you can tell me, what the hell happened to Hell? And demons. I mean, you call that a meatsuit?" She remarks, going to the one possession an old lady.

"I closed 72 deals last year. Kids love grandma."

"And that's the problem. Deals. We're paying...for what we should be taking. Who put Crowley in charge? What's the matter? Hell hound got your tongue? You took orders from him!"

"He's the king."

"He's a salesman. A King fights. A King conquers. A King does more than sit around reading contracts. But the King's dead. Long live the Queen. I can train you, I can get you new bodies, and we will march into Hell where we'll be greeted as liberators. And demon-kind will rise up and sweep over the Earth, and all the humans and all the angels with their clipped wings will bow to me. Or they will burn."

"What about Crowley?"

"Crowley's dead."

"Uh huh. Well, no offense honey, but we all thought you were dead until like...a week ago. And what if Crowley does come back? Look, a lot of us were scared of him. A lot of us still are. Prove that Crowley's really gone, and maybe then this scheme of yours will work. Or not. Honestly, I always thought you knights were overrated."

And with that Abaddon chokes the demon out of the host body.

"You go to Hell. And you tell them...I'm coming."

"Yeah Irv, fallen angels. Trust me, they're just monsters with good P.R. So if you run into one, torch his ass with holy oil. Oh and if they drop a silver sword, grab it. Those bitch stickers come in handy."

"Okay, crimany."

"Hey look, I know this is weird..."

"...hell Dean weird is what we do. Remember this case me and Bobby worked up in Saskatoon, had these two..."

"...werewolf Siamese twins?"

"Told you about that?"

"Every time he drank LeBatts. So if you run into any problems, give a call okay. And spread the word. More hunters that know the better."

"Roger dodger."

Meanwhile at a military naval base, three of the men are leaving the facility, getting time off to themselves.

"So, this your first weekend pass into town right? We'll set it all up. Jimmy's waiting at the bar, so you start buying shots, then you can thank me in the morning."

"Cool."

They get onto the bus and sit, of course accompanied by the demons. They leave their current host bodies and enter the 3 Navy Seals' bodies. Abaddon looks around from the driver's seat, having been the bus driver.

"Now that is more like it."

In the meantime on an abandoned road, there's this girl who's car had broken down and she's trying to fix it so she can get back on the road. That's when a van pulls up next to her and a man leans out of the window.

"Need some help?"

"Um...yeah. I don't know...I think the thingy broke."

"Well I can give you a lift into town."

"That would be...amazing. Thanks." She grins as she gets her bag and gets into the passenger seat of the van, while the guy grows fangs.

A short time later, she beheads him. But when she turns around, the soldier-possessed demon shows up.

"Nice hunting." He states before a bag is placed over her head and she's dragged away.

Dean, Sam and I had heard of the incident involving three civilians on the bus and had went to investigate. When we pulled up, the police were already there, military officials as well and everything of course was roped off.

"Oh god." I crinkle my nose.

"This place reeks of sulfur." Sam adds.

"The stink, the freak thunderstorms, every cow dead within 3 miles, I'll take demons for a thousand Alex." Dean remarks as we cross the tape and approach the crime scene, of course getting noticed by the military officials standing there talking.

"Hi, agents Stark, Banner and Romanoff, FBI. Just need to have a look around."

"Why? This is a military case, not a federal one."

"Well that's not what our supervisor said."

"That so. Then maybe he and I should have a chat."

"Okay." Dean says, taking out his phone, dialing Kevin back at the bunker. "Hey boss, um got a little problem here."

"Boss?"

"Yeah, this local badge needs confirmation we're supposed to be here. Came out from FBI headquarters in DC."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah." He nods, handing the phone over to her.

"This is sergeant Miranda Bates, who am I talking to?"

"Uh...Kevin...Solo."

"How old are you?"

"Old enough. And I'm with the FBI so have to do what I say or-"

"-listen kid, I don't have to do anything. And I don't take orders from the thieves so unless you can give me one good reason you got a couple pretty boy agents and whoever this girl is poking around my crime scene, I'm gonna put them in cuffs and spank your ass raw, understand?"

"Cabo, last June."

"What?"

"That's my reason. Oh, my favorite's you in the sombrero and doing the body shot off some naked guy in the luchador mask, super classy."

"How did you find that?"

"'Cause I'm Kevin freaking Solo. So unless you want this forwarded to your commanding officer Major Valaskes, I suggest you give my agents anything they want. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Yes...sir."

"Yes sir." She says, before handing the phone back and walking away.

"What did he just do?" I ask quietly.

"Kevin, what the hell did you just do?"

"All military computers are linked to the same network."

"And?"

"I hacked it."

"Hey Kevin? Good job buddy."

Dean and I had then joined Sam on the bus, to investigate the victims on it.

"So what'd you find?" I ask as we step inside.

"Yeah, this guy was shot in the heart."

"That what killed him?"

"Maybe. 15...20 years ago."

"What do you mean 15-20 years ago?"

"Every one of these bodies have a fatal wound or two or three, but they're all old."

"So we're looking at meatsuits. Bodies took a lickin, demons inside kept it kickin."

"Probably. I think they were possessed. And now those soldiers are."

"Lovely." I sigh.

"Excuse me agents? We pulled this off of a security camera, you might want to take a look."

We watch the footage and see the soldiers get off the bus and then the driver. Sam pauses the video and zooms in and we can't believe what we see. Our eyes widen as we look at one another, before nodding and she goes on her way out, and so do we.

"Abaddon? Seriously? I thought you Kentucky-fried that meatsuit?"

"I did."

"Well then, how'd she get back?"

"That's what I'd like to know. Magic maybe?"

"And why's she playing GI Joes?"

"No clue. Why don't you ask her when we find her?"

"Oh I will, and I'm gonna chop her freaking head off. Again." Dean remarks as we all get back into the car and drive off.

Come nightfall, it's the middle of an abandoned town, and one of our hunter friends...well Dean and Sam's friends is getting interrogated by the demon soldiers and Abaddon.

"Alright Pete, the Winchesters and Brooke...where are they?"

"Bite me."

"I said where are they?"

"And I said bite me...crew cut."

"Let me show you how it's done boys." Abaddon says, grabbing a noose, tying it around Pete's head and hoisting him into the air.

"You can scream all you want to. No one's gonna hear you! Now let's talk, Sam, Dean and Brooke.

He does finally crack and ends up getting his phone and calling Dean's number. However that phone he doesn't have, and it's back at the bunker with Kevin in a box of other phones and Kevin answers it.

"Hello?"

"This is Dean's number, but you're not a Winchester. Who are you?"

"I'm...uh...nobody."

"Well nobody. I need you to give those boys a message for me. I have something they might want."

While the three of us were driving along, that's when Sam's phone goes off and Kevin is frantic on the other line.

"Kevin? What's wrong?" I ask after Sam puts the phone on speaker.

"Kevin, wait wait wait, slow down."

"She gave me these coordinates. 44.053051 by negative 123. 127860 and two names. Irv Franklin and Tracy."

"Irv's a friend, don't know Tracy."

"The lady said they were hunters and that if you didn't go save them, that she would kill them."

"Story of our lives." I remark.

"Yeah, we've heard that song before."

"Dean, who was she?"

"Aba-" I get cut off by Dean, being given a look.

"She's the bad guy. Alright new job. Dig up everything Men of Letters have on Knights of Hell."

"Knights of Hell? Sure."

"You find a way to kill one, and I mean permanently, drop a dime."

"Thanks Kevin."

"Where do the coordinates lead to? Saw you putting them into the phone."

"They lead to a spot on the outskirts of Wiche, Oregon. You know this is a trap right?"

"Yup."

"And we're just gonna walk right into it?"

"Guns blazing. You with me?"

"You know it."

"Definitely." I nod.

Kevin in the meantime is in the dungeon, finding files on the Knights of Hell. The lights turn on when he gets there and Crowley notices and realizes it's Kevin.

"Kevin? Kevin I know it's you. Recognize the pitter patter of those little feet anywhere. That's right, run. It's what you do. I understand you're...what's the word? Weak. Hiya Kev."

By the time we get to where the coordinates lead us and when we've had a chance to change, it's daybreak and we find out that the coordinates lead us to an abandoned town.

"Wow, this place is a ghost town." I remark, looking around.

"What happened here?" Dean asks.

"Local chemical plant sprung a leak, years ago. They evacuated 3 square blocks. Guess it's still contaminated."

"What, so this whole place is poison?"

"Lovely. Just what we need. I better not die from being exposed to this." I grumble.

"Yeah, the whole place is poison."

Just then Dean takes his free hand and covers his crotch. I raise an eyebrow in question.

"That's not gonna help."

"Doesn't hurt."

I can't help but snicker a bit as I follow them into the abandoned town. We then pass by a diner and hear a noise. That causes us to draw our guns, well Sam and I of course and we head inside, seeing a girl and a guy tied up, assuming it was Irv and Tracy.

"Dean. We found them." I state as he comes in and starts to get Irv free, while I stand guard by the door and windows.

"Irv? Hey. Where's Abaddon?"

"Abaddon's been torturing hunters. She's trying to get intel on you three."

"Do you know why?"

"I seriously doubt she wants to add you to her Christmas card list. You gonna make with the rescue or what?"

"After you take a shot of holy water."

"Happy?" Tracy asks sarcastically.

"Sorry 'bout that."

"Don't worry about it. The last thing you need is us popping black eyes."

"Tracy right? I'm Sam Winchester."

"Good for you."

"She's new. We did a shifter job in Sacramento together. Smart, got a mouth on her."

"Let's gear up."

"So, what brings you to my boudoir handsome?" Crowley asks Kevin.

"Tell me how to kill a Knight of Hell."

"Abaddon giving you trouble eh? Tell you what, you let me go, and I'll spit-roast the little whore for you. Sound good?"

"You're bluffing. You don't know."

"Oh I know plenty. For example, I know she'd love you. Skinny, submissive, you're just her type."

"Shut up."

"Fine. It's not what you came for anyway, not really. What's on your mind Kevin? You can tell me. We're friends."

"You tortured me."

"I torture all my friends. It's how I show love. I was raised in a dysfunctional home environment."

"You killed my mom!"

"Did I? I mean are you sure? Did you ever see a body? I mean, how can you be sure she's dead?"

That sends Kevin over the edge and he charges at Crowley and hits him in the face with as much rage as he has.

"You can do better than that little man."

That's when Kevin sees the weapons.

"That's right. Let it all out." Crowley encourages and Kevin goes at him again.

"Alright, we got Jesus Juice, guns loaded with devil's trap bullets. Shoot a demon, put them on lockdown. Angel blade works..."

"Dean? They're coming back." I say as we all hear a noise and look out the windows to see the demon soldiers coming back.

"Good."

"They got assault rifles."

"Okay, less good."

"So, what's the play?" Irv asks.

Dean takes out a phone and he records a message and puts it on replay, Come and get it, you dicks!. That's when we high tail it out of there while they think we're inside.

"Alright. We gotta flank Seal Team Douche in there. So Irv, you, me and Brooke will go left and you just go right." Dean says the last part about Sam and Tracy.

"Don't touch me." She says, pushing Sam away.

"Whoa, what's the problem?"

"My family's dead because of him."

"What?"

"How are they dead because of him?" I question.

"I watched a demon slaughter my parents. And the whole time it talked about how it was celebrating. Some dumb kid let Lucifer out of his cage."

"Okay. Alright we gotta move. Uh...the girl's with me. Irv..." He trails off, motioning to him being with Sam, while Tracy, myself and Dean walk off.

Kevin however has just gotten done using whatever weapons he could to hurt Crowley bad for the things he's done to him and his family.

"There. Now that you've felt your feels, maybe we can talk."

"No."

"I'll make this simple Kevin. Let me go, and I'll give you back your mother."

"She's dead."

"Oh she wishes she was. After what I have my heavies do to her, she's begging for it. When have you ever known me to let anyone off easy? Think Sam, Dean and Brooke care about her? Think they care about you? You're just here to serve their needs. Nothing more. You're gonna lose Kevin. Everything. It's just a matter of time. When they're done with you, they'll toss you aside without a second thought because they can. Because they think they're special. And because...well, as always, another prophet waiting in the wings. I'm the one in chains but we're both prisoners here. What's say...you let me go, we'll walk out those doors together. What's say we both win."

"Okay, I think they're still inside. We wait until they come out and we pick them off one by one." Dean says as we round a corner.

"Sounds good to me." I nod.

"Listen, for the record, Sam's not the only guy who thought he was doing right and watched it all go to crap okay?"

"That's just part of being-"

"-being a hunter."

"Being human. Look, you want to be pissed off at Sam, that's fine I get it. But if you want to go after somebody, you make sure that they got black eyes. Gotta know who the real monsters are in the world kid."

"Sam, focused?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now hand me that toothpick, you, Dean, Brooke and Tracy beat feet out of here."

"What?"

"Going in there alone, buy you as much time as I can."

"Irv that's death."

"Yeah well, from what I got coming...it's my fault Sam. I was sloppy, lonely and I met some girl, and next thing you know, I'm strapped to a bed and she's twisting things that aren't meant to be twisted."

"She who?"

"Abaddon. I gave them up. Pete, Tracy, I gave them all up. So you hand me that blade and you let me do what I gotta do or so help me-" He stops suddenly when he's shot.

Sam shoots at the shooter on the roof, before bursting into the diner, where he's stopped by the other demon soldiers.

"Boo."

Then for us, Abaddon comes out from behind the wall and knocks Dean to the ground. Tracy and I work together and start shooting at Abaddon, but she's not bleeding or anything. That's when she pulls up her shirt to reveal protection against bullets.

"Nice grouping. Kevlar. Beats magic bullets. I love the future."

Dean catches her off guard with a splash of holy water to the face. He then gets up and gives Tracy the keys to the Impala.

"My car's 3 blocks over. Go get more bullets, more holy water, get everything."

"What about you two?"

"Just go, now!"

"Alone at last." Abaddon says as it's just me, her and Dean.

"Not really honey, I'm still here. Hi." I say sarcastically.

"That's right. I forgot about you." She remarks, and before I could act, she flings me into a wall and I end up hitting my head in the process. Not too hard, but hard enough.

"Brooke!"

So with me out of the picture, Abaddon starts to fight with Dean.

"I missed you. Didn't you miss me?"

Sam too was having trouble with the demon soldiers in the diner as well.

"Cool, I didn't miss the best part."

"I still appreciate you boys coming when I call. I think that's what I like most about you Winchesters. You're so obedient, and suicidally stupid. I like that too."

"Are we gonna fight or make out, cause I'm getting some real mixed signals here."

"I want Crowley. Or what's left of him."

"And what's in it for me?"

"I let you die. You give me Crowley's head, and I will snap your neck quick and clean. You won't feel a thing, trust me."

"And if I tell you to get bent?"

"Well, you know, I've loved this body since the moment I first saw it. You're the perfect vessel Dean. You give a girl all sorts of nasty ideas. So go ahead and play hard to get, and I'll peel off this no demons allowed tattoo and blow smoke up your ass."

"Well I'll tell ya, between you and me, it is a horror show up there."

"It can get worse. Trust me. Once I'm on top, I'll make you watch. And I'll use your body. Have you ever felt an infant's blood drip down your chin? Or listen to a girl scream as you rip her guts out, because you will. You and me, and we'll have a grand old time."

Sam is the meantime has just gotten knocked out by getting thrown into a wall.

"Here I thought all you Winchesters were tough."

With that comment, it awakened Ezekiel, and he took out all of the demons himself. Dean and Abaddon had seen the light, from the diner, squinting.

"An angel?"

"What, you think we'd roll up to this mousetrap without some backup?"

She throws him through the glass of a display window and disappears. He moves from the now broken display window and comes over to me to make sure I'm okay.

"Brooke...hey come on. Wake up." He tries to coax me awake.

"...Dean?" I question as I come to, but not opening my eyes yet.

"Yeah it's me."

"Where's Abaddon?"

"She's gone. Are you okay?"

"You know me, I'm strong. But my head hurts." I cringe as I touch the back of it, feeling something wet and I look at my hand to see blood.

"Your bleeding."

"I'll be fine, honestly. Where's Sam?"

"The diner. I think Ezekiel came through and did something. Maybe we can get him to heal your head too. Come on." He says as he helps me to my feet and over to the diner.

As we walk in, Sam or Ezekiel, was just finishing up making it look like the demons were killed with the knife.

"They were going to kill him Dean."

"Ezekiel? What the hell did you do?"

"I was protecting your brother. I thought that was what you wanted."

"Yeah...right yeah, no uh...sorry, I'm just still getting used to this whole thing."

"As am I."

"And Sam's okay?"

"He was knocked unconscious. In a way he still is. Sam will not remember any of this."

"So what the hell am I supposed to tell him when he comes to?"

"That's why I used the knife."

"Right. Smart."

"You're troubled still."

"Yeah, it's just uh...this is on me. I was the one who talked Sam out of boarding up Hell. So every demon deal, every kill that they make, well you're looking at the person that let it happen."

"You were protecting your brother. I am in Sam's head. Everything he knows, I know. And I know that what you did, you did out of love."

"Yeah uh Zeke...I'm gonna call you Zeke. I'm not really with the whole love...and love..."

"But it is why I said yes."

"Yeah and if that goes sideways, it's on me too."

"That's not going to happen."

"This is nuts. I mean, you're Sam, but you're not Sam. And normally he's the one I'm talking to about this stuff. I'm trusting you, Zeke. I just gotta hope that you're one of the good guys."

"I am. But I suppose that is what a bad guy would say. Dean Winchester, you are doing the right thing."

"If we're done with the talking here, I think I have some healing to be done over here." I remark from the chair I'm sitting in.

"Right. Zeke, you think you can heal her wound?"

"What happened?" He asks as he comes over to me.

"Abaddon. Kind of flung me into a wall, and I hit my head."

"That won't be too hard to heal." He nods. "Stay still." He demands as he puts a hand on my head and within seconds the wound is healed.

"Thanks Ezekiel."

"Now I shall get in the same position Sam was in before I came through to help. He'll be back in a few." He says as he goes over to the wall and sits on the ground, leaning against it. As we're getting everything packed back up into the gear bag, Sam comes to.

"Sam, Sammy!"

"Dean? What the hell happened?"

"You took a shot to the head, and I came in and saved your ass, as usual."

"You killed three demons? Alone?"

"Well not alone, but we took them by surprise." I remark.

"Got a little messy, I got a little lucky. Oh and uh...I'm awesome so there's that."

"Jeez. You are pretty damn awesome."

Just then Tracy pulls up to the diner in the car, just as we walk out.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, you?"

"More or less, yeah."

"Good. I got everything, but guess I'm late to the party."

"Lucky you. Let's blow this toxic waste dump. Burgers and silkwood showers on me." Dean says as we all get into the car and leave the abandoned town.

After dropping Tracy off somewhere safe, we headed back to the bunker and it was unusually quiet.

"It's too quiet."

"Kevin!"

"Kevin?"

"Oh no."

That's when we rush to the dungeon, and go to Crowley.

"Who worked you over?"

"Martin Hayward and Brandon Favors."

"They did this to you?"

"No, they're demons. You asked for names, I'm giving you names. They're under performance. Spike them, you're doing me a favor."

"Wow, you break easy."

"Please. Your little plan to have me stew in my own...delicious juices, pathetic. You want intel, I want things too. Maybe we can come to some kind of arrangement."

"So these are what then, freebies?"

"Not at all. Consider them fair trade for the enjoyment that Kevin gave me."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"He's my new favorite toy. Wind him up, watch him go."

"You two check the names, I'll go find the kid."

With that we leave Crowley in the dark...again. Sam and I go check out the names, while Dean catches Kevin trying to leave.

"Where do you think you're going? Hey. Hey hey hey, whoa. Talk to me."

"You can't keep me locked in here. I'm leaving."

"Like hell. Man, we told you not to talk to Crowley okay? He messes with your head."

"He said my mom's alive. He said if I let him go, he'd give her back to me."

"And you believed him?"

"He's still in there isn't he?"

"Crowley's lying."

"If he's not?"

"Well, if she is alive, then she's dead. In every way that matters, she's dead Kevin, I'm sorry. I know you're dying to bolt man, I get it. But out that door, it's demons and it's angels and they would all love to get their hands on a prophet. So even with Crowley here, this is still the safest place for you. It just is. We need you man."

"Cause I'm useful."

"Because you're family. After all the crap we've been through, after all the good that you have done. Man, if you don't think that we would die for you, I don't know what to tell you. Because you, me, Brooke, Sam and Cas, we are all we've got. But hey, if none of that matters to you, then I won't stop you."

It tok some convincing, but Kevin decided to stay. Sam and I had gone into the library to do some research on the names that Crowley gave us.

"Kevin's passed out in one of the back rooms. He's a tough kid. He'll bounce back. What's up with you?"

"Nothing. It's just...what Tracy said about me, she wasn't wrong."

"Sam, listen to me. You have helped a hell of a lot more people than you have hurt. So all of that, that was then, okay? Here's to now."

"So you ready for it? Fallen angels? Abaddon? Cas losing his halo. Crowley in our basement."

"I'm ready for it, that's for sure." I nod.

"It's like we're living in a freaking sitcom. What about you, how's the um...engine running?"

"Honestly um...I feel better than I have in a long time. I realize it's crazy out there and we have trouble coming for us. But I look around and I see friends and family. I am happy with my life for the first time in...forever. I am, I really am. It's just things are...things are good."

"Never better."


	4. I'm No Angel

_Two priests are currently walking through the yard of their church at night, talking with one another. _

_"Well Senior Cassidy will join us for dinner on Saturday. And mass of course. He can be a pain, so let's have everybody on their toes." The older father starts to explain, before they come face to face with a group of angels._

_"Gentlemen, we're looking for a man we may believe you know. His name is Castiel." _

_Castiel however is in a shelter, cleaning up and brushing his teeth, but ends up eating the toothpaste instead. _

_"Hey Clarence. How much longer are you gonna be with us?"_

_"I'll be moving on tonight after work. It's time. Can I ask you something?"_

_"Sure."_

_"Do you ever tire of urinating? I'll never get used to it."_

_After that routine, he ends up going to work, which is just picking up trash and helping out clean the church grounds. That's when he notices some blood on a stone. He follows the blood and it's all over a headstone and he looks up to see the two priests impaled, with no eyes._

Currently with us however, Dean was up before everyone else and had got some coffee. I had awakened a little bit after that, after just hearing him call for Sam. I groan as I pull myself out of bed and find my clothes which were scattered all over the room from Dean and I's activities last night. After pulling them on, I grab a robe and pull that on as well before heading out. Just as I reached Dean, the door to the bunker had opened and Sam had walked in.

"Hey, morning." He greets us as he comes down the stairs.

"You've been outside already?" Dean asks, checking his watch.

"Yeah. Woke up, went for a run..beautiful sunrise. Anyways, cleaned up, went and got breakfast. Grabbed you real bacon and eggs, extra grease, not even gonna argue."

"Mmm..perfect."

"And for you, got your favorite of course." Sam says, placing another container down on the table.

"You're the best Sam." I grin as I sit as well to eat my food that he got me.

"Wait, you went running?" Dean asks him.

"What? Why do you look so worried?"

"Let's see, there's Cas who I told to haul ass here days ago, he's still out there. Um..there's you.."

"Me? I feel great."

"I'm sure you do. But Sam, you went through the trials. That put a big strain on you. I just think it's better if you took it easy you know and didn't act like you were-"

"-possessed by an angel. And he does feel better. A working progress of course, but I am slowly healing him."

"Well good morning to you too Zeke."

"That's great. Um...but..Zeke.."

"I have news. I've picked up chatter among the angels. Not all are wandering around in confusion."

"Yeah, some of them are after Cas."

"There is a faction that is rapidly organizing. And finding human vessels to contain them."

"Led by Naomi?"

"I'm not heard that name, no. But it is this faction's leadership who want Castiel found. You see, Dean, I can be useful."

"So can my brother. So, why don't you go check your e-mail, and if I need your help, I'll let you know."

"Dean..."

"I said I'll let you know."

"I mean, you know, Cas is human now. It's gonna take him a lot longer to travel."

"I'm gonna get whiplash."

"What?"

"Nothing, um...alright, so I was thinking that if the angels are organizing, then that makes them a lot more dangerous than we thought."

"Why do you think they're organizing?"

"It makes sense. My point is, is that the more of them that are after Cas, the worse it is, so...we got to find him."

Meanwhile in a pharmacy, one of the workers there was watching something on his phone, and it was some religious thing or another. But it's not just him, there are others as well.

"Folks, like I've been telling you, we're in that most sacred of times. A legion of angels reaches out for us. Can you feel their divine presence? And if you do, there's nothing to fear. Heck no. If the angels come a-knocking, you just let 'em on in and fill yourself up with their grace. This is the reverend Buddy Boyle in the 'Goin For Glory Hour' wishing you a most blessed day. Amen."

"And we're clear."

"Beautiful Buddy. One of your best."

"Oh, well that is high praise sir. Seeing as how you're an emissary of the man upstairs himself. Thank you Bart."

"It's Bartholomew. And I have to say, God has personally assured me that he is highly pleased with your work. He prepareth a special reward for helping him populate a true Heaven on Earth."

"Well between you and me, it's practically reward enough being one of the few humans of all time to get orders from an actual angel. But if he prepareth, I am honored."

"Terrific."

"Sir? I'm ready."

"Oh?"

"Let me be a vessel for the divine. I give myself over to you."

"Oh. Hallelujah."

"Yes. Well...if you're certain."

Just then the room fills with light as it comes in through the stained glass windows. The angel enters the girl's body, and all seems alright at first, until the skin starts to turn red and bleed. It's become too much and she explodes, initially dying.

"Bart! What the hell?"

"Buddy...the simple truth is not all who are willing are designed to contain Heaven's grace. We have to expect a casualty now and then. It's a small price to pay when you think about it."

"Like the lamb of the sacrifice."

"Sure."

After eating breakfast, Dean and I had gotten dressed for the day, and Dean started to try and locate Cas.

"Alright, so this is where Cas called from on Tuesday. Longmont, Colorado. Each circle is how far he might have gotten in one, two, and three days out."

"Okay. Here we go. The same day he called from Longmont, weird murder, same town. Cops said it was like the girl was blasted from the inside out."

"Angel kill. They might have just missed Cas. Unless they got him."

"You got an Emory Part, Iowa?"

"Emory Park, Emory Park. I just saw that. Yeah, a couple days outside of Longmont."

"Okay, because two priests were murdered there Thursday. Eyes blown out, evidence of torture, they were impaled on posts."

"Torture?"

"Yeah."

"Angels are looking for info."

"About Cas." I add.

"Man, if they get to him before we do..."

"Yeah."

Cas in the meantime was with a bunch of homeless people, standing around a fire and eating food out of cans.

"Thank you. I was so hungry. Very kind of you to share."

"It's okay."

"You know, I'm finding that often, people with the least to give are the most generous. Anyway...I've got to plan better. I ran out of food very quickly today."

"You're new at this aren't you?"

"Food. Sleep or passing gas, it's all very strange. And it's occurred to me that one day I'm gonna die. Well...I better try falling asleep. It's quite a process isn't it?"

"Try counting sheep."

"Thanks once again."

Cas walks off to this broken down bus, and finds a seat and tries to fall asleep.

"What sheep?" He asks himself.

He does manage to fall asleep eventually, but someone was watching him and everyone was gone outside. Cas gets up and starts to explore the bus, angel blade in hand. When he turns back around, there's the pharmacist, clearly possessed by an angel and he goes after Cas.

"You're human?" He asks before Cas stabs him, killing him.

The next day however, the three of us go investigating the murder of the two priests, I was with Sam while Dean got led into the graveyard where the priests were found, by someone who worked with Cas.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I know this guy you're talking about. Sounds like Clarence."

"Clarence?"

"The church, it runs a shelter in town, and we work here. We earn our keep. Clarence spent a couple nights, and then had to move on."

"And he left the day the bodies were found?"

"Matter of fact. Oh man, those poor guys were a mess. They must've suffered bad. But at least now they're with the angels."

"I sure as hell hope not. Clarence happen to mention where he was headed?"

"No. He just said he always had to keep going."

Dean nods and gets a few more questions before he comes back to the car where Sam and I were, with Sam typing away on the laptop.

"So what'd you find out?" I ask.

"Well, he's definitely been here. Good news is, he's getting cagey. He's using a fake name, Clarence."

"That's what Meg used to call him. Of course, he doesn't get that's the name of a pretty famous angel."

"What?"

"Seriously?"

"It's A Wonderful Life."

"Ohhhhh." I remark.

But Dean still doesn't get it.

"Dude, seriously?"

"What'd you come up with?"

"Another angel kill. Outside a town called Lafayette. About a day's travel east of here."

"Where's that, Indiana?"

"Yeah. Body was found in a homeless camp, inside barbecued, the whole nine."

"Homeless guy?"

"No, a pharmacist from Dayton."

"Huh." Dean says as he starts the car and we start on our day's trip to Lafayette.

Cas however was on the move again, walking through a busy town. He pulls out some money and walks into a tattoo parlor, handing the picture of what he wanted to the artist before sitting and waiting.

"Reverend Boyle's influence is astonishing."

"I'll never understand these people."

"Our fallen brothers and sisters are finding vessels faster than we'd even hoped."

"They better. And then they need to help us find Castiel. You know, the one you let slip through your fingers."

"Our Dayton operative is tracking him."

"Good. Because frankly, you're hanging by a thread."

Then there's a knock on the door and another angel appears in the doorway.

"What?"

"Our operative did manage to find Castiel, but Castiel was somehow able to kill him."

"What?"

"He's a madman sir, and very dangerous."

"No, I'm very dangerous. Now you will find this madman, and you will destroy him. Do you understand?"

"That may not be possible sir."

"I'm getting a little tired of you."

"Castiel has vanished. We're unable to track him, he must've found a way to ward himself against us."

After getting the tattoo he does some more walking around the city, becoming aware of his surroundings, feeling out of place really. He then finds a church and heads inside, sitting in one of the pews, and another woman was there praying.

"Please lord. Mike is such a good man. Please send your angels to heal him. Thank you for hearing me. Amen."

"Mike is your husband?"

"He's very sick."

"Yes. Humans, so fragile. I never...never realized how fragile until recently."

"I guess that's why we pray. When you get dealt such a bad hand sometimes, you need something stronger than yourself."

"That's a wonderful idea, but..."

"What?"

"...what if you were to find out, that no one is listening? That god had pretty much left, that Heaven had gone out of business? What would you do?"

"But that's not possible."

"I think it's completely possible."

"You're missing the point. It's not possible because I have my faith."

"But when I tell you the truth-"

"-your truth, not mine. Your lack of faith doesn't cancel what I believe. That's not how it works. You know...I think you might feel better if you tried it my way. Someone is listening."

"The issue is, he somehow managed to ward himself against us. Our ability to track him has been jammed. Which brings us to you."

"My kind, we always get what we're looking for chief."

"Yes, reapers. But some of you have taken your skill set to a whole new level."

"That's the rumor."

"And are willing to freelance. For a price. That's the rumor."

"Jump start me. How do I start looking for this...Castiel?"

"I got one word for you. Winchester."

Dean, Sam and myself did some more poking around and went to the police station to get some information on the pharmacist that died.

"The damnedest thing I ever saw. Vic had a stab wound, but it's not what killed him. It's like his insides were..."

"..vaporized? It's been going around."

"So, this guy was a pharmacist from Ohio?"

"Apparently. Total family man, religious, one day just hops in the SUV and takes off, dies under a bridge here from god knows what. This is his stuff. Help yourselves."

"Thanks."

"Anything?" Sam asks as he starts going through the phone in the evidence.

"Nothing weird. Crappy music, a lot of podcasts, all the same one. Reverend Buddy Boyle's 'Going For Glory Hour'."

"Cop said he was religious."

"Let's just check it out then huh?" I suggest.

_"Join me in a heapin' helpin' of glory friends. When you're in the presence of the divine, you'll know it. And if you let yourself, you'll hear it._

Dean just looks at us and fast forwards a bit.

So, remember, when angels come a-knocking, let 'em on in."

"Angels can't possess a human without permission right?"

"Yep."

"So he's basically telling people who watch this to let themselves be vessels for the angels." I continue.

"It's a willing audience. They're all religious types like our pharmacist here. Buddy Boyle was telling them to let the angels take them over."

"Like body snatchers."

"How big a reach does this Boyle guy have?"

"Pretty much the entire planet." Sam says after doing a search on the computer.

"Great...and now we have a bigger problem." I sigh, before we leave the station.

Cas, with being on the run now from the angels, is in an alleyway, looking for food in dumpster, when he notices that some food is getting thrown out from a restaurant. After the busboy leaves and goes inside, he goes over to the trash cans and digs out a pickle and sniffs it, before dropping it back into the can and turns around to see a woman.

"I'm not stealing."

"And I'm not a cop."

"It's a shame, isn't it? So much is wasted when there's so many hungry. I never knew."

"Peanut butter and jelly?" The woman asks, taking out a sandwich, approaching him. "It's pretty good."

"No, I can't take your food."

"You're not. I'm giving it to you. Look, I've had hard times myself." She says before walking away.

"Thank you."

"Yeah." She nods, heading into her apartment.

"Look, for the billionth time, we're just looking for some information okay? We're not cops. I mean, do we look like cops?" Dean says as we've since decided to approach the homeless group, to see if they've seen Cas.

"Yes."

"Well, we're not cops. We just need to find a friend who's in it deep."

"Look, he might have been here the night that guy was killed. Uh..were any of you here then?"

"Maybe."

"Ok, okay. Uh, he's got dark hair, blue eyes, a little out of it."

"He maybe called himself Clarence?"

"Clarence, yeah."

"You've talked to him?" I ask.

"No, not really. We didn't really talk much."

"And uh...?"

"I think he was on the run."

"On the run huh?"

"You see him with the vic? Uh, victim?"

"No."

"Okay."

"He went off to sleep in another part of the resort."

"Where?"

"He's not there now."

"Where'd he go?"

"I saw him running from under the bridge to the highway."

"You gonna pay us for all this teeth pulling? Where was he headed?"

"He flagged a truck heading north. Detroit, probably."

"Detroit?"

"Why Detroit?"

"Truck was marked 'Motor City Meats'."

Wherever Cas was, it ended up raining, down pouring actually. He pulled the hood over his head as he tried to shelter himself from the rain. The woman from earlier comes out from her apartment and notices him sitting there, allowing him to come inside.

"Wow, it's beautiful."

"If you say so. Uh, just so you know, I don't usually bring home strange men."

"Am I strange?"

"No, I mean...men I don't know. But you look like you've been to Hell and back."

"Yeah, a few times."

"April, by the way. April Kelly."

"Um, Castiel."

"One name?"

"Yeah, like God."

"Or Cher?" She laughs a bit. "Uh, not to raise any red flags, but do you know your shirt's soaked in blood?"

As we search for Cas and where he could be, we stop at a little store for some snacks and such for the road. Dean had to get pie of course.

"Look at these chemicals. Do you even read the label?" Sam asks amusedly.

"No. I read 'pie'. The rest is just blah, blah, blah. Listen, when we hit Detroit, we start with the homeless shelters."

"Right, then go to the encampments, soup kitchens."

"Check out places that he might have gone looking for work."

"Yeah, and I can...I can check for vagrancy arrests."

"Yeah and, you know...odd deaths."

"I've got that one." I nod as we turn the corner. "Guys?" I say quietly.

"What is it Brooke?"

"Someone's following us. I just have that feeling you know?"

"Right...hide." Dean says and we do so.

Behold, someone does come into the alleyway we turned down and I come out from the shadows and grab him, pushing him against the fence. Dean and Sam come and hold knives to his neck.

"Who are you?!"

"Why are you trailing us?"

"You call this rag a bandage?" April asks, putting the rag Cas had over his cut on his arm, in the sink. "You're lucky this wasn't infected. What happened to the guy who attacked you?"

"Oh, I stabbed him. He exploded."

"Funny. You don't look like the knife-fight type to. Or the homeless type, actually."

"Yes. Well, I guess I trusted the wrong person."

"Bad investment advice?"

"No, vanity. I thought I was more important, more effective than I am, that I could...fix everything. And now all I can do is keep running."

"Well, all patched up. But god, your delts are in knots. You got to relax."

"Ah, it's all new to me. Hunger. Cold. This feeling, being all alone."

"You're not alone tonight." She says before kissing his cheek.

That ends up leading her to kiss him on the lips and then more than that happens. The three of us however have decided to take the man who was trailing us capture and we handcuffed him in a warehouse to get some answers out of him. We find out his name is Maurice and he's a bounty hunter, looking for Cas.

"So, Maurice. You bounty hunters are like delta force reapers. Why would they sic you on Cas?"

"He warded himself."

"Naomi hire you?"

"Well did she?" I add, arms crossed over my chest.

"You really are out of the loop. Naomi's dead. Resting in pieces."

"So then who's running things now?"

"Answer!"

"Her protege, Bartholomew. He's an up-and-comer."

"So he figured we'd lead you to Cas."

"Well look who's wrong now." I add.

"This Bartholomew, he organizing the angels?" Dean asks, and when Maurice doesn't answer right away, Dean takes the angel blade and cuts him again.

"Answer him!"

"That's all I know. You can kill me. It won't matter. If I don't find Castiel, there are others that will. But do what you want."

"Sure." Dean states before killing him.

"Well say something." April says as she and Cas are laying de-clothed under the blankets surrounded by candles in the dark.

"There aren't words."

"So, that was okay?"

"Very much so. Um...what I did, that was uh...correct?"

"Very much so."

"Good. Good."

"Castiel, I can't help thinking all that stuff you said earlier, blame and guilt? It seems like you're taking on a heavy load for such a sweet guy."

"Believe me, I've done a lot of foolish, unwise things. I'm no angel."

"Well, whoever you trusted...can't they help undo this?"

"We're not in contact."

"So what happens next for you?"

"More of this, I hope."

After killing Maurice, we had set out on the road again, taking another long trip, currently being in Michigan. But still with Cas and April, she was up cutting fruit while he was just waking up and had gotten dressed.

"Oh. I washed your stuff. Find everything okay?"

"As a matter of fact, something is missing."

"Oh?"

"It was with my jacket. It's hard to describe."

"Oh, you mean this?" She questions as she holds out the angel blade.

After driving for a bit, Dean decides to stop, and Sam and I have no idea why.

"Dean, why are we stopping?" I ask.

"Yeah, what's up?" Sam asks.

"We've been chasing our tails all night. No Cas. 'What's up?'. I'm fried."

"I can always drive if you want." I offer.

"That's alright. I think it's time for Plan B."

"I'm not following."

"I'm letting you know."

"O-okay. Um, letting me know what?"

"I'm letting you know."

And just then, Zeke comes through.

"What is it Dean?"

"I need your help."

"That is flattering. We've been through this. I cannot be making public appearances."

"Oh I understand that. I'm not asking you to walk the red carpet Zeke, okay? I need your help finding Cas."

"It cannot be done. He is warded."

"I know that, but maybe you can use your intergalactic, hyperspace, x-ray eyeballs to find someone else. There might be a reaper for rent on his ass. Could you find them?"

"I could try." He says, closing his eyes to focus.

With that said reaper, Cas is tied up in a chair while she plays with the blade.

"It's probably pointless, washing the blood out of your shirt really. It's the kind of thing the real April would have done. Mm. I miss being her. Very sweet. Didn't mind me entering her one bit."

"Why didn't you just attack me right away?"

"My briefing said you were dangerous and powerful. And you did arrive armed, so...I needed information, so I had to gain your trust."

"And that required intercourse?"

"Well I am allowed some leeway for executive decisions. And I can't say I didn't find you attractive."

"Who hired you? I assumed with Naomi gone, things were in chaos."

"New sheriff in town, Cas. He hired a bunch of us. I got lucky. Enough questions from you. I have several of my own. Let's talk about your buddy Metatron." She says, cutting his skin, doing that multiple times as she asks questions.

"Alright, let's try this again, and one of these times, we'll get it right."

"I know nothing about Metatron's spell. I didn't know he was gonna cast the angels out of Heaven. I was cast out too."

"Oh, dear. Nothing but reruns on this channel. These blades are marvelous, aren't they? They really do a number on humans too."

"I told you last night, and I meant it. I was naive. I had no idea what he was planning."

"You're lying. It's known you helped Metatron enter Heaven, collaborated with him."

"'Cause we were going to restore Heaven. Bring the factions together. He lied to me."

"You were with him when he unleashed the spell. You know how the angels were cast down!"

"I didn't know he was assembling a spell. I only knew that I was the final ingredient."

"You?"

"My grace. That's why I'm human. He took my grace for the spell."

"Or you gave it."

"It may be unwise to kill me. If my grace were the key to empowering the spell, I may be key to countering it."

"Are you negotiating with me Castiel?"

That's when the door gets kicked in and the three of us rush in.

"Cas!" Dean exclaims before April shoves the blade through Cas' body.

We go to kill April, but Dean gets flown into the kitchen, Sam gets flown into the closet and I get flown into one of the walls.

"This girl's popular with all the boys." April says as she kicks the angel blade away from her that was on the ground as she heads towards Sam in the closet.

Dean was closest to Cas and pulls that angel blade out of him and he sees me starting to get up from where I was thrown. He tosses me the blade and I sneak up behind April with it. Just as she knocks Sam out and turns around, I shove the blade through her stomach, killing her.

"Cas. Cas. Cas!" Dean says, trying to see if Cas will come back to life, but he doesn't.

And I notice that as I turn around, walking over myself.

"Cas! No."

I immediately get this sad look on my face, and so does Dean as we look on at a motionless Cas.

"Sam, he's gone."

Sam walks up to Cas and then starts to heal him, and that's when we realize that it's not Sam, it's Zeke this time. He stumbles back in the place where Sam was left, and then Cas wakes up.

"Dean!" I exclaim as I see Cas wake up.

"Brooke. Dean."

"Hey. Hey! Yeah."

"And Sam." He states as Sam wakes up.

"Cas, you okay?"

"Never do that again!"

"Alright. But I'm confused. I know she stabbed me, but I'm...well I don't appear to be dead."

"Well you got dinged." Dean says to Sam first. "And uh, you. I made a deal with her. Said she wouldn't get kabobed if she brought you back. She brought you back."

"You lied."

"I did. I do that."

It took a few days, but we finally got Cas safe and sound at the bunker with us, and we could relax for a bit.

"You know, you never answered my question. How did you now where to find Cas?" Sam questions.

"I told you. I went through Maurice's pockets, I found an address and took a shot."

"I never saw you go through Maurice's pockets."

"What are you talking about? I don't see half of the nerdy stuff that you do. It doesn't mean that you don't do nerdy stuff."

"I am really enjoying this place." Cas remarks as he and I come back to where Sam and Dean are, after I gave Cas the walk through. "Plentiful food, good water pressure, things I never even considered before. There really is a lot to being human, isn't there?"

"It ain't all just burritos and strippers, my friend."

"Yeah. I understand what you're saying."

"You do?"

"Yes, there's more to humanity than survival. You...look for purpose, and you must not be defeated by anger or despair. Or hedonism, for that matter."

"Where does hedonism come into it?"

"Well, my time with April was very educational."

"Yeah. I mean, I would think that getting killed is something."

"And having sex."

We all give Cas this weird look and Dean almost chokes on his burrito.

"You had sex with April?"

"Yeah, that would be where the hedonism comes in."

"Shh."

We're all silent for a moment, taking in the news that Cas had just told us.

"So...did you have protection?"

"I had my angel blade."

I just cover my face with a hand and shake my head.

"Oh...oh, he had the angel blade."

"Um..."

"In any event, I...I do now see how difficult life can be and how well you three have led it. And I think you'll be great teachers."

"Thanks Cas."

"Are there any more burritos?"

"Uh yes."

"Our little Cas. He gave it up to a reaper. That is..."

"Castiel cannot stay here." Sam says, but we realize it's Zeke.

"Zeke? What do you mean he can't stay here?" I question.

"He will bring the angels down on all of us."

"No no, he's got the Enochian tattoo. He's warded."

"He was warded when April found him, and she killed him."

"Yes, and you brought him back, and I tink you for that, but this is Cas, who vouched for you when I didn't know you from jack. The bunker is safe."

"Bartholomew is massing a force. We cannot stand an incursion. Castiel is in danger, and if he is here, I am in danger."

"You're in danger? From who, the angels?"

"If he stays, I'm afraid I will have no choice but to leave."

"Oh no, you can't do that. Sam's not well enough. If you leave his body..."

"..I know. I am sorry." He says before going back to being Sam and then Sam walks off.

"Dean what are we gonna do? We can't just let him go out there on his own."

"I know, but I can't let Sammy die. I have to do what I have to do."

"Right. Alright, well I'll be in the bedroom if you need me. Tired."

"Then you get some rest." He nods, kissing me quick before heading into the library where Cas was eating a burrito.

"Epic food. I can't get enough."

"Cas, uh, can we talk?"

"Of course. Dean, you know I always appreciate our talks, our time together."

"Listen buddy, um...you can't stay."


	5. Slumber Party

**_1935_**

_At the bunker, two men, men of letters if I must say have gone to the controls and unlocked these briefcases from their wrists, pulling out some kind of lights and plugging them in, turning the controls on._

_"Protocol's complete. James Haggerty."_

_"Peter Jenkins. Did we do everything right? Shouldn't..." He trails off before a door opens, which leads to the library and the lights turn on. _

_"Took three years to build this dump?"_

_"Dump? Dump? Are you kidding? Do you realize where we are? This - this dump is the last true beacon of light in a world gone topsy-turvy. This dump is the epicenter of - of the ultimate chess match between good and evil."_

**_Six Months Later_**

_Both men were just lazing around, playing chess, bored. _

_"What a dump. You know, when I got this assignment, I thought there'd be, I don't know, excitement, adventure."_

_"There's nothing worse than adventure, my boy. Trust me."_

_Just then the phone rings next to them. _

_"Extension 765. Yes. No. That's not the password. There's protocol here, young lady. We'll be waiting. We have a guest - damn hunter. Frank's kid."_

_"Really? Wow. What he did for her - t-that was really something."_

_"He was something alright."_

_And just then the door to the bunker opens, and in walks a woman with a large bag._

_"Holy buckets. It's really you."_

_"That's right rookie. It's really me - Dorothy. Now, which one of you geniuses is gonna help me kill the wicked witch?"_

**Present Day**

Crowley is still sitting in the dungeon in the dark, when Sam pulls open the doors and walks in with paper and a crayon.

"Hello moose. You want more demon names. I want a room with a view." Crowley says as he crumples the paper.

Sam just smiles and walks out of the room, closing the doors.

"We can discuss this. I'd settle for stretching my legs. Bollocks."

So Sam does what he does best and continues the researching and paperwork with myself of course, and it does get tiring after a while. But relief came when Dean came back from dropping Kevin off at a motel for a while.

"Hey. How'd it go with Kevin?"

"Oh, well that little nerd is in a lovely warded motel room in Branson. He's got about 48 hours of pay-per-porn and Kenny Rogers ahead of him."

"How's he feeling?"

"Well he stared at the angel tablet and repeated the word 'falafel' for the entire ride. Kid's cracked. I'm hoping this break will, uh, clear his head. You know, after everything that happened, I figured we could use a little break ourselves, so I uh, picked you up season one of 'Game of Thrones'. Figured we'd get a little takeout."

"Alright. Well first, I think I might have found a way to help Cas."

"Did you talk to him?"

"No. And by the way, I still don't understand why he left in the first place. I mean, the bunker is the safest place for him. Bartholomew and - and who knows how many other angels are out there, gunning for him."

"Hey, look, nobody wants him here more than I do, okay? But uh, he felt like he'd bring trouble down on us, so he had to split. But if you got a way to help him, I'm all ears."

"Alright. So Kevin said the table lit up like a Christmas tree when the angels fell right?"

"So?"

"So it turns out each light was where a cluster of angels fell. So we got to thinking that maybe there's some way to hot-wire this, make it track angels. That way we could help Cas steer clear of danger."

"This was...both of your ideas?" Dean asks us.

"Do you see anybody else in here?"

"I mean it's just us Dean." I add.

"So how would it work?"

"Oh, no idea. See at first I thought the table was the computer, but it's not. It turns out it's just part of it. But I did find these cables underneath, and we followed them. You're never gonna believe what we found." Sam states as he gets up from the table, and so do I, us showing Dean where the cables led to.

"Voila."

"This is a computer?"

"Yeah - or it was in 1951, when it was installed. Now, here's the crazy thing. It's not plugged into anything. I mean, I have no idea what's making this thing work."

"It's warm here." Dean states when he feels around.

We get curious and feel around too. Dean goes to the shelves and finds a tool and start to pry the backing off of the computer. With some struggle he gets it, but ends up bumping into the shelf behind him.

"Got it."

"Huh."

"Well, that looks simple. Does it come with a manual?"

Dean remarks as we look in the back to see lights and other stuff in the back.

"Nothing in the archives, and I obviously couldn't find anything like it online, not to mention I'm pretty sure that the men of letters doesn't exactly have I.T. support anymore either."

"I think I know somebody who could help us."

"Charlie." I state as we follow Dean back out.

_"So, what do you have to say for yourself?"_

_"Nothing. I cut out her tongue. I've bound her, but it won't last."_

_"Wait. You captured her all by yourself?"_

_"Yes. Despite all my lady parts, I managed to capture the wicked witch."_

_"Your father would be very proud. I mean did you that he -"_

_" - wasted my time with his words. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't do the same. Now, I have tried cutting off her head, burning her, dousing her with holy water. All she did was laugh. Nothing I know of can kill her. So I'm here as a last resort. I was hoping you stiffs have a way to kill someone from Oz."_

_"Well of course we do. W-we have to. This place is the last true beacon of light."_

_"Alright. Just open your damn books already."_

_"Alright Jenkins. Let's go to work."_

"Can't wait to see Charlie again. It's nice to have another girl around sometimes." I remark as Dean and I are sitting around, waiting for Sam to come back with Charlie since he went to go pick her up.

"Here it is." Sam states as he arrives with her.

"Hey. Thanks for coming." Dean says as he hugs her.

"Always great having you around...particularly another girl." I add, as I hug her too.

"Not a problem, especially since I got fired last week."

"Hey, what? What happened?"

"Turns out the company I work for was outsourcing to child labor. So I took a big Wikileak all over that. And yeah. It's cool though. It's given me more time to focus on my hobbies...like LARPing, macrame, and hunting."

"Excuse me?"

"Hunting? You're hunting now?"

"Okay. It was just a couple little cases. I took down a teenage vampire and a ghost...which sounds like a Y.A. novel if you say it out loud."

"Charlie, how'd it go?"

"It was uh...it was intense. But I kind of wish hunting was more...magical, you know? Never mind. So, where is this commodore 64 of yours?"

"Follow us." I say as we lead her to where the room was, and she checks out what we found behind the computer.

"Sweet Ada Lovelace. This thing belongs in a museum. I mean it's got encryption software. It seems to be powered by something magical."

"Magical?" I ask.

"Skip to the end."

"It's kind of an alarm system. Global badness? It freaks. This computer is what locked this place down."

"Can we use it to track angels?"

"Alright. Let me see what I can do."

After some work, she managed to hook her tablet up to the computer successfully.

"Alright. It took some doing, but now we can download. This beast has all the men of letters files. Time for a little drag and drop."

"Wow. Well, that's a start. Thank you. Um, that's - that's great. So you've been hunting."

"Alone."

"Learned from experience that it's not a good thing." I add.

"I know. Not a good idea, according to the 'Supernatural' books."

"You really can't delete those from the internet?"

"Not even I can do that. Come on."

"Where do you even find them?"

"A top secret place I call Amazon. And someone uploaded all the unpublished works. I thought it was fanfic at first, but it was clearly Edlund's work."

"Who uploaded it?"

"I don't know. Their screen name was BeckyWinchester176. Ring a bell?"

"None. Uh, nobody's. Uh no, there are no bells. Uh..no."

I can't help but snicker at his reaction.

"Ugh, these files are encrypted. This is gonna take a while. So, takeout, sleepover, braid each other's hair?"

"Got an idea."

"Where are you going Sam?"

"Just follow me. I think we should go watch something."

"Game of Thrones?"

"Yeah, we deserve a break while we wait."

So Dean got beers for us, and we had some snacks. We went into Sam's room so that we could watch.

"Wow, that Joffrey's a dick."

"Oh you have no idea. Wait until he -"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! S-spoilers. I haven't read all the books yet."

"You're gonna read the books?"

"Yes. I like to read books. You know, the ones without pictures."

"Man, this bed is about as comfortable as a brick. Any plans of moving in anytime soon?"

"I am moved in. This is just my style."

"Yeah, this is, uh, style."

"Well I'm sorry I haven't hung up the uh, 'Hang in there kitty' poster yet Dean. Feel free to redecorate."

"So what, our home's not good enough for the 'Hang in there kitty' poster?"

"This isn't our home. This is where we work."

"What's the difference?"

"Okay."

"Alright, well, I'm gonna go get us some more beers. How about that?"

"So Charlie, what was all that about hunting isn't magical?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know too." I nod.

"Saving people, hunting things, the family business? I am down. But...I was raised on Tolkien man. I mean where is all this? Where are my white walkers and my volcano and magic ring to throw in the damn thing? Where - where's my quest?"

"Magic, quests...suck. Trust me. They're all -"

_"Dead ends. Nothing but dead ends."_

_"There's got to be someway to kill this thing."_

_Just then the witch cuts herself loose from her bounds._

_"Jenkins, no!"_

_With that, he ends up getting controlled, eyes glowing green._

_"There's something here that belongs to me. Take me to it."_

_"What the hell's it talking about?"_

_"I have no idea. Do you have a lab?"_

_"Second floor, room 28."_

_She bolts in the direction, a controlled Jenkins tries to go after her. _

_"Wait!"_

_The witch manages to get away to follow Dorothy while a possessed Jenkins fights with his partner. _

_"Jenkins, Jenkins! I know you're in there."_

_"Jenkins is gone."_

_The other guy turns the knife on Jenkins and stabs him, the possession leaving his body. _

_"Jenkins. Jenkins."_

_"You were right. There's nothing more worse than adventure."_

_"Dorothy! Dorothy!"_

"Download should be done by now."

"What the hell?"

"What is that?" I ask as we see something odd behind the shelf.

"Sam give me hand."

With that, they move the shelf to see the wall covered in something odd, with pods attached.

"Ew. What is it?"

Dean then takes his knife and proceeds to cut through the other pod and a hand falls out. He pulls it open and a whole body comes out, a woman. With guns drawn, he turns her over and she wakes up.

"Quick, Brooke, get a blanket. Sam find out if there's any files on her."

We both nod and do so.

"The first case investigated in this bunker involved Dorothy. She and the witch came into this room, and they never came out. This will never stop blowing my mind!"

"Okay pace yourself Toto."

"How is this real? It's part of the fairy world."

"We have to find her."

"Find who?" I ask.

"No. We have to talk before anyone does anything, okay? Dorothy?"

"Talk? Typical men of letters. Standing around having a nice little chat with your noses buried in your books, while your little secretaries take notes."

"We're hunters."

"And who are you calling secretaries?"

"You two aren't secretaries? You're women of letters? W - how long have I been out?"

"That's why we need to talk. Look, you've been gone for over 75 years. Now, according to our files, you came here to kill the wicked witch and then disappeared. What happened?"

"We couldn't find a way to kill her, so I did the only thing that I could."

_"It's you and me forever, bitch."_

_"Dorothy! Dorothy!"_

"A binding spell that came at a price. Her soul with mine."

"So you've been frozen with the witch for all this time?"

"Yes. Look, the witch cannot be killed. If I am awake, then so is she."

The witch was indeed awake and she had found her way to Crowley in the dungeon.

"Hello lovely. Sorry. This litter box is warded against everything. Even wicked witches. Big fan. Love your work. What's the matter darling? Cowardly lion got your tongue? Right. Enough chit chat. Must be here for a reason. Write it down so daddy can help."

"Wait, if she's here, why didn't she kill you?"

"Yeah, why?" I ask.

"She can't."

"You're protected by the witch of the north's kiss. It's from the books."

"Ohhhh."

"Oh forget the books! They're not important. I'm protected, you aren't. Now the witch came here looking for something. I have no idea what it is, but we have to find her before she finds it."

"Alright, alright. Charlie, Brooke, dig into the files and see if you can find anything that puts a dent in a witch."

"Mmhmm." She nods.

"Got it." I nod as well.

"Sam and I will have a look-see. Come on."

"I'm helping." Dorothy states.

"Yeah, I don't doubt it. But for right now, why don't you rest up and help the smartest people in the room?"

"So...big fan."

"Hmm."

"Ozma of Oz-"

"Is a total ass."

"You were much nicer in the books."

"And the movie."

"Those books are the ravings of a sad, old man - my father."

"Wait. You dad was L. Frank Baum, the writer?"

"A man of letters. Another glorified librarian if you ask me."

"Hey, these guy may have been sexist, but like all librarians, they were wicked smart too. The dude who was in here when you cam in - Haggerty - he kept your case file open, worked it every day until he retired. Obviously he never found you, but of you took five seconds to read, he did find a way to fight the wicked witch. Do you remember the poppy fields in the first book?"

"Where everyone fell asleep." I state.

"That's not actually how it happened. It was much bloodier."

"Oh..ew."

"Stop ruining my childhood. Do you remember the poppies? Good. Haggerty made a deal with a fairy and got some poppy extract. I'm gonna get some bullets from the gun range and make us some poppy bullets. So, are you coming or what?"

"They told you she was smart." I grin, before following both of them out.

In the meantime, Sam and Dean were looking around to see if they could find the witch, going to the dungeon and checking on Crowley as well and he was whistling 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'.

"Wow. If it isn't the scarecrow and the tin man. Your new house guest, so misunderstood. Neither of you saw 'Wicked'?"

"What did she say to you?"

"Something along the lines of..." He trails off, hissing.

"Alright, well I'm gonna go get some holy oil and a lighter, dick bag."

"I know what she's looking for."

"What does she want?"

"I'd be happy to tell you, as soon as I get to stretch my legs."

Dean goes over and unlocked the collar.

"Oh."

"Alright. What does the witch want."

"Give me a mo. I still need to air myself out."

"I think you're aired out enough." Dean states after shooting him.

"Rude." Crowley replies, un-crumpling the paper before him and it says 'key'.

"Key? What key?"

"I haven't the foggiest. Has to send her off on a merry chase before she could melt me. Told her you boys kept the keys in the kitchen. You do have a kitchen in this crap hole, don't you?"

After the witch went through everything, the kitchen was torn apart. Sam and Dean went there to find the kitchen a mess.

"Damn it, I just cleaned in here."

"Really?"

"Looks like we got a witch here."

Just then, Dorothy, myself and Charlie had walked in after making the poppy bullets.

"Sorry. We raided your gun range. Made us some poppy bullets. They won't kill the witch, but they will stun the crap out of her."

"That's my girl."

"There was only enough for five bullets, so...make each shot count."

"You know I'll make that shot count." I nod.

"Now we just have to find her before she finds whatever the hell she's looking for."

"She's looking for a key."

"A key? A key for what?"

"How do you know?"

"Little birdie told us. Ring any bells Dorothy?"

"Unfortunately."

"What's the key for then?" I ask.

"It's the key to Oz. there are magical ways into Oz. Tornado, eye of a hurricane, whirlpool. But this key will turn any locked door into a portal to Oz. Insert Key, twist, and presto, you're in Oz."

"How did the men of letters get the key?"

"I have no idea, but if she finds it, she'll go back and finish what she started. She'll destroy all that is good in Oz. She's got armies of witches, flying monkeys. Many will die."

"What's this key look like?"

Dorothy takes out a journal and shows us what it looks like.

"I've seen that key. Found it when I was doing inventory."

"Where is it now?"

"Our room." Dean states, referring to me and him.

"We got to get to that key."

"Alright, Charlie, Brook and I will go look in my room. Why don't you guys buy some time? Charlie? Safest place in this joint is the dungeon."

"You have a dungeon in this place? Of course you do."

"So maybe you should..."

"I am not hiding, especially in a dungeon. Wicked witch, a key, a quest? Let's do this."

"She's got a point you know. Do you really want her down there with Crowley? I wouldn't want her there." I remark as I follow her out the door.

"C-charlie...Brooke..." He trails off, following us.

"I can't believe I've lived here for 75 years. How long have you called this place home?"

"My brother calls it home. Me, I uh...I haven't had that much luck with homes."

"Me either. Overrated, you ask me. Yellow bricks or not, give me the open road any day. Sam!" Dorothy exclaims when she turns around, seeing the which behind him.

He ducks, Dorothy shoots, and the which disappears into a cloud of green smoke and into the vents.

"She can get anywhere from there. Split up, cover more ground?"

They do so, and in the meantime, Dean, Charlie and myself are going through Dean's stuff in our room to find the key.

"You keep your porn meticulously organized, but not-"

"Don't judge me."

Little did we know, the witch had found us, and Dean had found the key.

"Ah, yahtzee."

"You found it? Great."

"Guys!" Charlie exclaims and when we turn around the witch snatches the key and knocks us away away from her.

The witch was just about to kill us when Charlie jumped in front of us, taking the blow to save us. Dean and I both shoot the witch with the poppy bullets and that makes her scream and turn into a cloud of green smoke and disappears into the vents. We go over to Charlie to see her not moving.

"Dean..."

"Charlie? Charlie? Charlie?!"

"She's not moving or responding. She can't be..."

"Don't say it Brooke. Now help me." He says as he has me help pick her up and put her on the bed.

"Charlie. Charlie? Charlie? No!"

"Dean!" We hear Sam's voice out in the hall.

"Zeke!" Dean exclaims and just as Sam reaches the doorway, Zeke takes over. "You have to help her."

"She's gone."

"No. You can bring her back like you did with Cas."

"I cannot keep doing that."

"Why the hell not?!"

"I'm barely back to half-strength Dean. Every time I use my power, it weakens me. Which means I will have to stay in your brother longer than you want - longer than we both want. The witch running around your bunker is very powerful. I can help with the witch or save your friend."

"Save her."

"Dean...but the witch..."

"...we can find another way to kill her. We need Charlie. My answer is final."

"As you wish." Zeke says as he comes over and brings Charlie back to life.

"Merry Christmas." She states as she jolts back to life.

"Charlie?"

"Uh. Hey, I know you."

"I told you to stay in the dungeon."

"Bet you say that to all the girls."

"Dean?"

"Sammy?"

"What the hell just happened?"

"The witch - the witch was about to put a whammy on me and Brooke, and uh, Charlie jumped in front. She got zapped, then the witch got the drop on you."

"Then why aren't we dead?"

"That's a good question. I uh...we clipped her with poppy bullets. She got the key. I think she's gone."

"No. She's wounded." Dorothy says as she appears in the doorway. "We should still have some time. She could still be in the air vents."

"No. No, no. She's right. We - we have to - we -"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa."

"Just go. We'll catch up."

"M-my gun's over there. There's one bullet in it."

We nod and take her gun, heading out to find the witch.

"Can we be best friends now?"

"Who's Zeke?" Sam asks.

"What?"

"When I came into your room, before I got zapped, I thought you said the name Zeke. Who's that?"

"Um...I think you're still a little punchy, man. Just keep moving."

"I had the weirdest dream when I was out. It was Christmas, and my parents were still alive, and -"

"Dream? Charlie, you died. Don't worry about it though. You're not a real hunter until you've died and come back again."

"Slow down. Why would you think I died?"

"Heaven...it's your dream life. And if you were zapped by the wicked witch, instant death. I would know. She killed me too."

"Okay. Let's rewind here a bit. When did you die?"

"In Oz. My father was obsessed with his work as a man of letters, and then I was born...and nothing changed. He would keep his work a secret, but I was such a curious kid. I was always looking for trouble, looking for the next big adventure."

"I know the feeling."

"I stowed away on one of his cases, wound up in the Emerald City, accidentally got left behind. It was terrifying."

"Well, what happened?"

"I met up with these three freedom fighters, and they thought I was this child of destiny. Chosen to kill the wicked witch. They protected me, and then the witch turned them into -"

"A scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion?"

"And then she hunted me down and killed me."

"Yeah, the never made it to the books."

"Sometimes real life is darker than fiction."

We had searched the entire bunker, but there was no sign of the witch at all.

"Why haven't you moved in?" Dean asks Sam.

"Is now really the time for this Dean?"

"Well, just asking."

"Look, I never had what you had with mom and dad okay?"

"What're you talking about?"

"I don't have any memories of home. And whenever I've tried to make a home of my own, it really hasn't ended well."

"Yeah, but a lifetime of abandoned buildings and crappy motel rooms. I mean, this is about as close to home as we're gonna get, and it's ours."

"And what about the books?" Charlie asks Dorothy.

"Revisionist history. That's my father's way of trying to undo what had happened to me. But I knew the truth. When the witch came to our world, I became a hunter, and my father wrote those silly books."

"Don't you get it? The books aren't silly. They're guidebooks filled with clues he left for you. Haggerty pored through each one, and his research led him to uncover the poppies, so maybe there's something else from the books we can use. Preferably something with a pointy end."

"You are a genius. Come on. We've got to get to the garage."

"There's a garage in this place?! Oh boy."

"Clear." Sam states as there's no sign of the witch where he is. "I got nothing."

"Neither do we." I sigh.

"What do you think? Is she gone?"

"Who knows...Sam!" I exclaim, the witch being behind him.

We can't shoot her, since she has a hold of Sam and we didn't want to miss. So Dean just says screw it and runs towards them both, all three of them toppling over the table and falling to the floor. She touches her fingers to both Sam and Dean's heads and they're eyes glow green for a second before becoming possessed.

"Sam? Dean?" I ask as I walk a little closer.

"Find the girls." Sam says in a deeper voice.

"And kill them all."

"Crap." I mutter, rushing off to find Charlie and Dorothy before they do. "Dorothy! Charlie! Where are you?! We've got a situation on our hands!"

"Yes. I knew those boy scouts would keep it for me."

"Is that..."

"Yeah. He didn't make it. Please be here. Please be here. Yes!" Dorothy says as she finds the ruby slippers.

"I don't believe it. Did you really walk down a brick road in these?"

"No. I never actually wore them. Seemed kind of tacky wearing a dead woman's shoes. Plus I'm no good in heels, you know?"

"I don't suppose we could just wish her away?"

"Sorry. Another thing the books got wrong. But, like the poppies, these have magic from Oz. Sharp magic."

"Oh. Death by shoe?"

"There you are. Wait, we have a garage? Never mind. We have a problem."

"There you are." We hear a deep voice and turn around to see Sam and Dean.

"Was that your Batman voice?" Charlie asks.

Just then their eyes glow green, showing their possessed.

"That's definitely not your batman voice."

"Told you we had a problem."

"It's her. She possessed the both of them."

"I missed you, my pretty."

"Killing you a second time will be just as sweet as the first."

"Guys, I know you're in there. Dean, you can't let the witch do this. If she opens the door, she's going to destroy Oz."

But since he's possessed, he can't think clearly so he grabs her and smashes her into a glass window. In the meantime, the witch has all that she needs to open the door to Oz. She goes to one of the locked doors in the bunker with a cauldron, setting it down and getting everything ready.

"I have no intention of escaping to Oz."

"I'm going to bring my armies here."

Dorothy and a possessed Sam end up fighting each other, while I helped Charlie with Dean. But as of this very moment, the witch has the key and she unlocked the door to reveal Oz itself, laughing as darkness starts to take over.

"Don't worry. You'll join Dorothy right after you watch her die."

"Sorry about the nards Dean." Charlie says before kicking him right where it hurts the most.

"Huh. I was just gonna hit him over the head." I remark as she starts to run away.

"Go. We'll buy you some time." Dorothy says to Charlie, throwing her the other heel.

"Alright, let's see what you pencil necks are made of."

Meanwhile with the witch, she was continuing her spell and the flying monkeys had started to come towards the door.

"Alright, let's do this the old fashioned way."

"My body cannot hurt you Dorothy. But theirs can."

Just then, the witch's eyes glow green and one of the heels was stabbed into the back of her head, Charlie being revealed to have done it. And because of that, Dean and Sam had gone back to normal.

"Now heel." Charlie states, before stabbing the witch with the other heel in the face.

"What the hell just happened?" Sam asks in his normal voice.

"Charlie." Dorothy states.

"Brooke..." Dean says, reaching down and helping me up. "What happened, are you okay?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. You were kind of possessed by the witch and started to fight me, tried to kill me."

With the witch dead, the flying monkeys are still coming so with some struggle and after some admiration of Oz, she starts to close the doors, getting them completely closed before the monkeys could come through. We then appear downstairs as we went looking for Charlie and see her on the catwalk, the key in her hands.

"Ding dong bitches."

After dealing with everything, we kind of forgot that Crowley was still unchained, so back to the dungeon and Sam chained him back up again.

"Really? After all I did with Ms. defying gravity? Bollocks."

Since we found out we had a garage, Dean had stored the Impala in there so it would be safe from anything.

"Baby looks good in here huh?"

"Not bad."

"Dean..."

"Dorothy, I uh...I found something in the archives. Pretty sure it belongs to you."

"You have no idea how odd it is having a series of books written about you."

"Actually I do know, uh, and it's definitely weird. But you know what? End of the day, it's our story, so we get to write it."

"So, thanks for the slumber party."

"Mm."

"And bringing me back from the dead."

"Uh, I didn't."

"Don't B.S. a B. . Am I a zombie now? Do I need to eat brains?"

"No, no, no. You're you. You're gonna be fine, alright? Just um...just keep this between us okay?"

"Alright, but only because you raised me from the dead, which you're going to have to explain to me later."

"Alright."

"Not bad for a bunch of librarians. You mind keeping an eye on my bike for me?"

"Yeah, yeah. As long as you don't mind me taking it for a spin once in a while."

"Deal. Thank you for everything. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a rebellion to finish. So, you coming or what?" She asks Charlie.

"What? With you? To Oz?"

"Yeah. You said you were looking for adventure. Well here it is Red. Come help me find my damn dog."

"You have no idea what's in Oz. I mean there's flying monkeys, armies of witches. There's all kinds of danger."

"Promise?" She asks before hugging Dean.

"Have fun Charlie." I grin before hugging her as well.

"You need anything just uh...tap your heels together three times okay?"

"Me? What about you crazy kids? You gonna be alright without me? Take care of yourselves guys."

They turn and Dorothy takes the key and unlocks the door, opening it and we see Oz.

"Wow."

The doors then close on themselves, locking Oz away. When we open them again, there's nothing.

"Think she'll be back?"

"Of course. There's no place like home."


	6. Dog Dean Afternoon

At a local Taxidermy shop, a man was working on his latest project, while listening to the game on the radio, his dog by his side.

"Easy Colonel."

Just then there's a crashing sound, like metal, Colonel growls and barks, the man taking a shotgun and going to check out what had made the noise.

"Is anyone here?" He asks as he searches the dark room, ending up scaring himself with the bear that he stuffed.

"Gets me every time." He says as he leaves the room, Colonel barking like crazy.

"What's the matter boy? It's me."

He then turns around to see a man in a cowboy hat and he knocks the gun out of his hands. He sticks his tongue out and it's forked like a snake's.

"What the hell?"

Then the man ends up choking the guy to death, the dog watching everything, the spine ending up split in two. With us however, Sam and I were in the main area of the bunker, Dean coming out of where the bedrooms are.

"Wow."

"What?"

"Kevin. Just poured some buffalo milk down his gob twice."

"Buffalo milk?"

"Yeah, the hangover cure-all."

"Ohhh." I nod.

"It's got everything in it. Except buffalo milk."

"How is that kid still recovering from Branson?"

"What can I say? He's an an amateur. The slippery nipple shots at the Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede nearly killed the guy."

"Okay then."

"Well I got something that's gonna get us back on the road."

"A case?"

"Yeah."

"You sure you're ready for that?"

"Why would I not be ready for that?"

"Aren't you kind of running on empty?

"Yeah, but the last three nights straight, I had eight hours of shut eye. For a hunter, that's like 20. Trust me Dean, I feel good."

"Well that's great and all James Brown, but you're still recovering from the trials. I think you ought to pace yourself you know? And the sooner you heal..." Dean trails off.

"Yeah?"

"I just want you back to your old self."

"We both want you back to your old self."

"I am. Look, Kevin's back on the Heaven spell, Crowley's locked up, we should be out there doing what we do best."

"Well..."

"You want to listen at least? Okay great. Taxidermist named Max Alexander mysteriously crushed to death. Nearly every joint in his body dislocated, every bone broken, poor guy is a human pretzel."

"That's...lovely." I make a face.

"You tell me what's got that kind of strength."

"A demonic luchador?"

"Let's be serious here for a moment Dean, yeah?"

"Shop's a couple hours away in Enid, Oklahoma. We should at least check it out. Unless there's some reason you think we shouldn't."

"That's what I thought." I remark after a few moments of silence, before getting up and heading into the bedroom to change into the usual FBI attire.

We pack what we need, before heading out on the road, heading the couple hours away to the shop. When we get there, we see something on the front of the shop.

"Subtle." Dean states when we see 'scum' in graffiti on the shop's windows, after approaching it.

"Pretty harsh." I add.

"Check that out." Sam points to a symbol drawn into the blood.

"Huh."

Sam takes his phone out and takes a picture of it before we head in.

"Well, the creep factor just skyrocketed."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." A local police officer turns and spots us.

"How are you? Agents Michaels, DeVille and Thorn." Sam states as we hold our badges up.

"The body's already been to the morgue. Just wrapping it up with Dave Stephens. He's the one who discovered the body. Such a shame. I used to go hunting with Max. He was a real good egg."

"We're sorry for your loss." I nod.

"Thanks."

"You mind showing my partners around? I just got a couple of questions for Mr. Stephens."

"Okay, come on."

"Dave Stephens?"

"Yeah."

"I just got a couple questions for you if that's alright."

"I'll tell you whatever you need to know. Max was a...a real pal."

"Hunting buddy?"

"Mm. Yeah."

"Lucky guess. So uh, about what time did you discover the body?"

"About 9am...my usual pickup time. I come in every Wednesdays and Sundays to collect the entrails."

"The what?"

"The animal organs."

"Ah."

"After Max would uh..dig them out and work his magic."

"Huh."

"He uh...he was a real artist you know? Strange thing is though, uh...bins were empty this morning."

"Why is that strange?"

"Well because it's a Sunday. Weekend hunts are pretty much a given in this neck of the woods. So they're usually, mm, chock full of guts."

"Ah. Any chance Max could have cleaned them out himself?"

"No. It's a...it's a bio hazard. You can't just...you know, throw the stuff out. You got to burn it."

"Huh. Is there uh...anything else missing from the shop?"

"No. the register was full, and the safe was intact. And all of Max's trophies were still on the walls." The sheriff explains.

"Was there anybody else here when you showed up?"

"No one. Oh, other than uh...the Colonel." Dave refers the the dog that's being loaded into a crate.

"Hmm. Excuse us." Dean says as Sam and I come back.

"So?"

"Okay so uh...we got a thief who's jonesing for animal parts, we got a pagan symbol, and we got a human pretzel."

"Animal parts? Ew."

"Yeah, it all sounds very witch-y. But we weren't able to find a hex bag."

"Not a single one."

"Alright, well let's keep digging. But uh, not here. I don't like the way that one's looking at me." Dean says about the owl.

He leaves fairly quickly and we follow. When we get back into the car, we head off on the road to mind a motel to stay the night in. Once we find one, we check in and get a room, getting settled. Sam however goes right to figuring out what the pagan symbol means.

"Okay uh, that symbol in the graffiti, it's...not wiccan. It's copy written. Local animal rights group, Enid's answer to PETA."

"S.N.A.R.T.? You got to be kidding me."

"Well it makes sense that an animal rights group would have an axe to grind with a taxidermist."

"Why? The animal's already dead."

"That's why...duh."

"Exactly. Hunters are what keeps them in business. Now the question is, are those bleeding hearts actually witches or just hippies?"

"What's the difference?"

Oh my god.

"Well since the symbol wasn't wiccan, I don't think there's witches involved. So, next thing...hippies. I looked into local vegan shops and I found one. Gentle Earth Vegan Bakery. Run by two people, Olivia and Dylan Camrose. Also supporters of S.N.A.R.T."

"It's a lead, it's worth a shot." I nod.

"Man, after we just got settled in."

"You'll live." I state, putting my jacket back on, and then we head out to that vegan bakery.

"Always knew I'd find the source of all evil at a vegan bakery."

"What's that smell?"

"Patchouli. Yeah, mixed with depression from meat deprivation. Hey. You know who wears sunglasses inside? Blind people. And douchebags." Dean states as he spots two people working, wearing sunglasses.

"Really? I don't get you sometimes." I shake my head.

"Olivia and Dylan Camrose?"

"At your service."

"You are two members of S.N.A.R.T.?"

"Founders and co-presidents actually. Uh, can we interest you in some literature?"

"No thank you." I kindly decline.

"Or a flaxseed scone? It's wheat free, gluten free, sugar free, and surprisingly moist."

"Let me stop you right there. Uh, we're here to investigate the death of Max Alexander. A local taxidermist."

"He's...dead?"

"You knew him?"

"Ish. Um...small town."

"Well, he was murdered last night, and a S.N.A.R.T. logo was found at the crime scene. You two wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

The looks on their faces told it all, they did know something about the logo at the crime scene. So they take a break, and we sit down with them so they can tell us everything.

"His business is funded by hunters, and you know how hunters are. They're selfish dicks who define themselves by what they kill."

"And as animal advocates, we couldn't stand for that."

"So you killed him?"

"Of course not. S.N.A.R.T. doesn't tolerate violence."

"Really? And this is coming from two people who spray paint death threats." I remark.

"It was a scare tactic. We just wanted to spook him."

"Turns out we were the ones who got spooked."

"What does that mean?"

"Well last night, when we were tagging the joint, we heard this nose."

"A hissing noise."

"It freaked us out, so we ran out into the alley."

"But someone attacked us."

"Sprayed us in the eyes with mace."

"And it's not like we could go to the cops."

"So now we look like total douchebags. Because we have to wear our sunglasses inside." Olivia states, before they take off their sunglasses so we can see what happened to their eyes from the mace last night.

We kind of motion for them to put their glasses back on, and we thank them for their time before heading back to the motel, where we go right to research on what could have caused the look of their eyes and around them.

"Found something." I state, and Sam comes right over and looks at what I found.

"What is it?"

"Necrosis."

"Necrosis?"

"Premature death of tissues. That's why their eyes were all messed up. And it's not caused by mace."

"Alright, what caused it?"

"Right here. Blunt force, radiation, venom."

"Venom?"

"As in 'snake'?"

"Well the taxidermist was constricted. Olivia and Dylan heard hissing, and they were sprayed in the eyes."

"By venom."

"By venom."

"Okay so what are we talking here? Some sort of a freaky ass snake monster?"

"Maybe. The weird thing is, snakes either envenomate or constrict. No snake does both."

"Correction. Freaky ass, mega snake monster."

"It could be a Vetala."

"Yeah, but they're not afraid to sink their fangs in. Taxidermist was bite free. It doesn't really fit the profile."

"Right. So..."

"So, call Kevin. Have him look some stuff up."

Meanwhile at the animal shelter, the guy with the cowboy hat walks in and up to the front desk.

"Aren't you early dude?"

The guy just stares and slips the guy $100, before going to the animal cages. He goes over to the cat cages and starts to load up a sack with them. The guy in the front hears the dogs and cats, but thinks nothing of it...until things get crazy and he sees the guy in the cowboy hat eat one of the cats.

"Dude! You said you were from a perfume company."

When the cowboy hate guy looks up, he has cat eyes and his nails turn to claws and he kills the guy who came in. We of course heard about it the next day and set out to see what happened.

"Claw marks."

"Yeah. The cops said all the cats went missing."

"Right. So yesterday, we're dealing with some sort of a snake monster. Today it's killer kitty."

"I don't know."

"Hey. Why does that mutt look familiar?" Dean asks, making us stop by one of the cages.

"That was the taxidermist's dog."

"So he's been at both crime scenes?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe he's a suspect. You know may.." Dean stops when an officer walks by.

"..could be a skinwalker, maybe a shapeshifter."

"Doesn't really look like a monster to me."

"Yeah, looks harmless."

"One way to find out." Dean says, pulling out a silver coin. "Come here boy. Hey. This isn't gonna hurt at all. Unless it hurts" He adds, putting the coin to the skin.

"Not a shifter."

"I guess we can uh, rule out killer."

"Do you agents need any further assistance?" The sheriff asks, coming in.

"Officer, I think we're okay. Thanks."

"Alright, well let me know."

"Officer. Excuse me. Uh, can I borrow your hat?" Dean asks, and the barking stops.

When he goes to put the hat on, the dog barks like crazy and stops when he removes the hat.

"Good luck getting adopted."

"Okay, so The Colonel's not a suspect."

"Yeah, but he's a witness. Hey boy, you speak sign language?"

"That's monkeys."

"Huh?"

"You know what? This is gonna sound crazy. I read this book once about this guy who tried to teach his dog to speak after it witnessed a murder."

"Really?"

"It worked?"

"No."

"But he wrote a book about it?"

"Yeah well, he doesn't have what we have. Kevin. Hey, it's me. How do we speak to a dog? Uh huh. Yeah, tell me everything." Sam says as he starts to walk off.

"Let's make sure we can take Colonel with us."

"I got it." I nod, going to see if we could take him.

After I had asked, we were allowed to take him. I was given a leash and walked back to Dean.

"Got it all taken care of. We can take him."

Dean opens the cage and clips the leash to a collar that was put on him and we walk him out of the shelter, and outside. I sit in the back of the car with Colonel and we head back to the motel so Sam can get whatever it is to help us hear Colonel talk.

"An Inuit spell."

"Who know the uh, men of letters had it's own Eskimo section?"

"And it's supposed to let us communicate with The Colonel?"

"Yeah well...that's the plan. Kevin said it's like a sort of human/animal mind meld."

"Meaning?"

"If it works, we should be able to read The Colonel's thoughts."

"Ew, that looks nasty." I say about what Sam was poured into a glass.

"Alright, I'll do it. You got enough on your plate." Dean says, taking the glass.

"Like what?"

"Uh, like...you're tired. You're on the mend, okay? Plus you...you've got a sensitive stomach. Last thing we need is you chucking this stuff up. Huh? Doesn't look so bad." He says before drinking it, and I kind of make a face watching.

"I was wrong. Come on. Ha! Deila her me. Dag eru nokkrar vitur orum. Alright, let's get this party started. Tell me everything you know. What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? Tough crowd."

Colonel just whines and lifts his head up and barks. Dean just shakes his head 'no'. We thought that the spell didn't work, so we got some lunch and listened to some music, maybe having to wait a bit for the spell to kick in.

"So what do we do now? The spell didn't work, and it's been long enough for anything to kick in."

"Call Kevin. Spell tasted like ass and was a bust."

"At least it didn't affect your appetite. Jeez."

"Yeah."

_Change the station. Change the station._

"What?"

"What?"

"You...shut up. It's working!"

"What...finally!"

"It...go!"

"Say that again."

_You call this classic rock? Next thing you know, they'll be playing Styx. And Dennis DeYoung? A punk._

"Dennis DeYoung's not a punk. He's Mr. Roboto bitch."

"Why are you arguing with the dog about Styx?"

"Yeah, I mean aren't you supposed to be finding out what he saw?"

"Wh...uh, yeah. Um, hey boy. What were you trying to tell us about the cowboy hat?"

_The douchewheel who killed my best friend was wearing a cowboy hat._

"And the pothead too?"

_Yup. Same guy killed both._

"Ask about the cats." Sam says as he tosses his trash into the bin.

"Yeah uh..." Dean trails off, retrieving the trash and giving it back to Sam, in result him getting weird looks from us. "...and what about the cats?"

_I don't know._

"I don't want this." Sam states about the trash.

_I couldn't see much. I didn't exactly have the best view in the orphanage. Oh, but I could smell him. Guy reeked of red meat, dish washing detergent and tiger balm._

"Huh."

"So, what's he saying?" Sam asks, tossing the trash away again, only to have Dean retrieve it again.

"Uh, that the...the guy, he smelled like ground chuck and soap suds and old lady cream."

"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam asks, holding the trash up.

"I don't know. Oh what are you laughing at?

_Uh..._

Colonel then starts barking and then Dean gets up in a hurry and goes to the window with him.

"Hey! Hey, hey! Yeah! You! You! Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, you! You! You! You!"

"Um..." I trail off. "..is he acting like a dog?" I question.

"Uh, Dean?"

"Hmm?"

"I think the spell worked. In fact, I think it worked a little too well."

"What?"

"I think...you might be a dog."

"What?"

"You're scratching your head, you're...barking at the mailman, you're playing fetch." Sam says, tossing the garbage away again, causing Dean to look at it and then not go after it.

He turns to us and starts to whimper like a dog would.

"Ruh roh."

"I'll call Kevin." I say as I take my phone out and do so. "Hey Kevin. Yeah, we have a problem. Dean did that spell, and he's kind of acting like a dog. Yeah, playing fetch, scratching his head, barking at the mailman. Yeah sure. Here Sam." I hand my phone to him and while Kevin is looking up why Dean is exhibiting this behavior, he can tell Sam why.

Dean has since got up and sat on one of the beds, staring at Colonel.

"Yeah. No, that...okay. Alright. Thanks. So, apparently the Inuit spell has some side effects."

"Oh, well that would have been nice to know before I downed it. What kind of side effects?"

"When you mind meld with an animal, it's...possible to start exhibiting some of it's behavior."

"Explains the fetch and mailman thing." I nod.

_Don't look at me Hoss. It ain't my fault._

"Well how long am I gonna have the urge to..."

_...sniff butts?_

"Oh, whoa. Hey. I don't have the urge to sniff butts."

_Yet._

"Do you really h-have the..."

"No! come on!"

"Well, Kevin doesn't know how long it'll last. It's not like it's an exact science, you know? But hopefully, when the spell wears off, so will the side effects." Sam explains as Dean grabs a chocolate bar and goes to eat it.

_I wouldn't eat that if I were you. Chocolate? Seriously._

Dean then stops eating the chocolate, spitting out the piece that was already in his mouth.

"Alright, so now that you can hear his thoughts. You think maybe we should go back and see if we can figure anything else out?"

"That's actually not a bad idea. Let's go."

Colonel is leashed and we get ready to go, before heading out to the parking lot.

_Where we headed?_

"Back to the shelter."

_To sniff out more clues, maybe dig up something we missed?_

"Alright, one more doggy pun out of you, and I'm gonna have your nuts clipped."

_I hate to break it to you Hoss. My sack's emptier than Santa's after Christmas._

Just then as we were approaching the car, we saw bird poop land right on the windshield.

"Oh gross. That's why I don't like birds sometimes.

"Aw, are you kidding me? Hey dick move, pigeon." Dean says to the pigeon on the light post above the car.

_Screw you ass hat._

"Did..."

"What?"

"Wait a minute. Can I hear all animals?"

_Yep. Animals have a universal language...like Esperanto. But this one actually caught on._

_And I'm just getting started too. Brewing a real big one. Ha. Bet your ride's gonna look sweet in white._

"What's he saying?"

"You...he's being a douchebag!"

_Who you calling douchebag, douchebag?_

"Oh, shut it you winged rat!"

I can't help but snicker at the fact that he's arguing with a pigeon of all animals.

"Dude, what?"

"Just calm down. Just get in the car."

_Ha ha. That's right Sally. Go cry to mama._

"Oh, that's it you son of a bitch!" Dean says, pulling out his gun and goes to shoot the pigeon, but Sam and I quickly stop him, hiding the gun.

"Ooh! Dean! Hey! Get in the car."

As we leave, we head back to the shelter and as we're pulling in along with Colonel, Dean has his head sticking out the window. I shake my head, and laugh to myself before Sam comes to a stop and we all get out.

"I think it's probably best to leave Colonel in the car."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, all the windows are open."

"You think we like that?"

"We?"

"You think because the windows are open that, that's some sort of a treat huh? No, the dog's coming in."

_Respect._

After he gets Colonel out of the car, we start to head in, but stop because they stop and we look in the direction they're looking and there's another dog, clearly a female.

_Yeah baby._

"You said it."

"Dean..."

"Yeah." He snaps out of it and we head in, going straight to the cages.

"So, what else can you tell me about the man in the cowboy hat?"

_Honestly, I couldn't see much. Damn cataracts. And you know no one's going to pay for my surgery. Just another casualty of the system I guess. I don't belong here you know. I'm pedigreed._

"Well I'm sure you'll be out of here soon."

_Please. I'm 14._

"Good luck...ma'am."

_Once a day they clean these cages. Once a day!_

"Okay."

_A biscuit. Just one biscuit._

_I need a Raquel Welch poster and a rock hammer._

_I'm shaking the fence boss. Still shaking the fence._

_Over here!_

_I was framed!_

_Shaking the fence boss. Still shaking the fence!_

"So, find anything out?"

"Hardly. And I'm not getting any clues...just a bunch of complaints."

_Hey, pretty boy. Over here._

"Yeah, uh, sorry pal. I'm done for the day."

_But I saw everything!_

Dean looks at us and then heads over to the cage where the Yorkshire Terrier is, and we follow.

_And I'll tell you, but...it'll cost you._

"What? Are you kidding me? I'm being extorted by a dog. Well what do you want? What? Beggin' Strips? Snausages?"

_Bitch please. If I'm gonna rat someone out, it's got to be worth my while. I want...a belly rub ._

"You...alright."

_Not from you, sweetie. From that big one. Over there. Hi!_

"He wants a belly rub."

"Yeah? And?"

"From you."

"Seriously?"

"It's the only way he'll talk Sam."

"Fine." She sighs, unhooking the cage and picking him up, starting the belly rub.

_Ohh, a..a cowboy hat, leather pants, the dude's a total closet case._

"Okay, what else can you tell me about the guy, other than his outfit?"

_Um, he was carrying a burlap sack for the cats._

"What does he want with the cats?"

_Ooh, attaboy, yes. Hell if I know. But he took all of them, except for the one he ate._

"Ew."

"What?"

"Apparently our guy has a sweet tooth for kitty cats."

"That guy is sick." I make a face.

_Oh. Oh, and the sack had something written on it._

"Okay, what did it say? Hey come on. We had a deal."

_Well you tell that to the tall drink. He's the one who stopped rubbing._

"Sam."

"Hand cramps."

"He's not talking."

_Attaboy. It said 'Avant-Garde Cuisine'. Lucky for you, I read French._

_That's a cafe on Main Street. No dogs allowed._

"Well no wonder he smelled like hamburgers and dish soap. We got to get downtown. Apparently our guy works at a restaurant."

_Whoa..oh, yeah. No, no, wait, wait, wait. Sure you don't want to adopt me?_

"No thanks. Uh, we'll pass."

_No, I'm not above licking feet. Hey big'un! Come back here!_

"Hey hold up."

"What's the matter?"

_Best belly rub I ever had._

Just then Dean goes over to all the cages, letting the dogs go free.

_Freedom!_

_I left a surprise in there for Animal Control._

_I didn't peg you for a softy._

_Going home. I'm going home. Honey, I'm coming home. Yeah, I'm coming home._

_I'm going home!_

_Bacon! Bacon! Bacon!_

"Aww, you let them all free. Look at you with the weak spot for shelter dogs." I grin.

"They don't deserve to be here. Now let's get to the restaurant."

By the time we got there, pulling up to the back of course because we saw that the restaurant was closed, it was nightfall. We get out and Sam picks the lock and we go inside.

"I'm sorry. Who can afford to be closed on Monday these days?"

"Homicidal maniac?"

"Yeah."

"Nutsy, out of his mind maniac."

"Hey." Sam says and we end up finding a storage room.

"Check this out."

"Chef Leo."

"Think he's our guy?"

"It's okie town. Lots of dudes wear cowboy hats.

We then proceed to snoop around, seeing if we could find anything.

"Whoa. Oxycodone, Tramadol, Methadone."

"Someone likes to be drugged up."

"Guess he likes to cook comfortably numb."

"Yeah, apparently."

_Help us._

_Please mister. _

_Over here._

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Sounded like little kids."

_Help. If you don't free us, the chef will eat us._

_He's not lying._

_We're in a cage!_

Dean then takes off the sheet where he sees it and sees rats.

"Eat you?"

_Look in the refrigerator behind you._

_Yeah, behind you. _

_In the fridge._

"Hey. Owl brains. Cheetah liver. Grizzly heart."

"Ah, a spell book. Shamanism."

That sparks my interest and I walk over, taking a look at the book myself.

"Well, what's a chef doing dabbling with witchcraft?"

"It says here whatever animal organ you ingest with the right mix of hoo doo and spices, you temporarily gain the power of that animal."

"Odd. Haven't heard that one before."

"So, okay, if you're munching on owl brains..."

"Your head spins around like the Exorcist?"

"Close. Bolsters your IQ. Okay, eat a cheetah liver for speed, bear heart for strength."

"Okay, if he's chowing down on this stuff."

"It would make sense why he constricted the taxidermist. And clawed the guy at the shelter."

"Well, no offense, but why would he want to eat you guys?" Dean asks the rats.

_Uh, we have collapsible spines._

_We do. Promise_

"Look at this."

"Hmm?"

"Lion liver plus eagle heart. Rattlesnake fangs plus anaconda blood. Baboon brains plus black widow abdomen. He's mixing ingredients."

"What the hell for?"

Just then we hear a clanging noise and go out to investigate it.

_Shoo! Quiet!_

_Don't shush me!_

_You be quiet. _

_I am quiet now._

We go into the kitchen and find someone there, clearly working.

"Who the hell are you?"

"We're from the Health Department. Stopped by for inspection."

"I wasn't aware we had one scheduled."

"Yeah, no, you wouldn't be. That's the point. Besides, I thought you were closed."

"We are. Chef's having a private dinner. In fact, he'll be here any minute."

"Oh. Well then. In that case, kitchen's shut down."

"Shut down? Why?"

"Because, uh, y..you're both in clear violation of penal code 8.14."

"Out. Come on. Get out. Both of you. We'll let you know. Alright. We'll take the front, you take the back."

"Do we even know how to kill this guy?"

"Well, empty one of these in his head. See what it does." Dean says, referring to his gun.

Just as Dean and I go to the front, there's a metal clang again, sparking Sam's attention. There's a thud too and then he goes to find out what it is. Little does he know, the chef had camouflaged himself into the wall like a chameleon and id a sneak attack, lashing Sam's neck, making him bleed out.

"Chameleons aren't that bad. Kind of taste like chicken."

As Sam is bleeding out, Zeke comes through and heals him, before turning back into Sam.

"How the hell did you do that?"

"D...do what?"

"Don't play coy. I want to know what you are. Oh screw the sharktopus. You're my main course." He says before knocking Sam out.

After knocking Sam out, he dragged him into the kitchen, leaving him laying there on the floor as he sharpened some knives and such. Dean and myself had made our way to the kitchen to find the chef sharpening those knives, but stops when we get close.

"Why does it smell like dog in here?" Chef Leo asks before turning to face us.

"That smell's coming from you." He says to Dean.

Dean shoots at him first, but he misses and then the chef throws a meat cleaver at him, but thankfully Dean ducks that. A fight then ensues between the two, but not before he comes after me and throws me into some kitchenware.

"All dogs should be leashed." Leo says as he takes an electrical cord and ties Dean up to the beam in the middle of the room.

"What did you do to my brother?"

"Your brother? What was your mom smoking when she had you two? He's fine. He's just taking a little cat nap before dinner. I've never had human heart before. Heard it's a bit chewy. Good job I'm not a fussy eater."

"You're sick."

"I've been told that twice."

"No, no. not in the head. I, uh...well, you are that too, but I mean sick like cancer."

"Well I guess dogs really can sniff it out. Stage IV carcinoma."

"Huh. So that's why you're doing this. What happened? Draw the short stray, decided to break bad?"

"See, when I was diagnosed, I was way past standard treatment. No one could save me. But then with the help of a Pawnee shaman and a zoo membership, I found a cure, albeit a temporary one. Cancer always came back."

"You start experimenting with different organs huh? Traded in the single serving food for a combo platter."

"Well what can I say? Combination therapy works. I felt stronger, and the effects lasted longer."

"And if you smoke a few innocent people in the process, well hell, at least you felt better."

"Well, I didn't mean to kill anyone...at first. But if people got in my way, they became collateral damage. Guess you eat enough predators, you start to become one. You are what you eat, right?"

"And you really think the power you hold over other people's lives can make up for what you lack in your own?"

"So dog boy, what do I need to eat to take you down, huh?"

"You don't want to do this."

"Oh, but I do want to do this. See I'm gonna kill you, work up a nice appetite, eat your girlfriend over there, and then I'm gonna eat your brother. I mean, I don't know what the hell he is, but with healing powers like that, who cares? He could cure me. Ah. Dog on sort of dog." He says, holding up a wolf heart.

"Rahuraar, sakuriisat iisat a ti'pah kaawakit. 'A tarahkista'u...a raah." He finishes the spell before biting into the wolf heart.

At the same time, Dean had gotten free and grabbed the meat cleaver off the beam and went to hit him with it, but he knocked it away, and Dean pushed him away. The chef then turned around and his teeth had changed into a wolf's. That's when Dean started to run and Chef Leo ran after him. I had come to just as they had run out, getting the strength to get up, I started to run after them. They had gone out to the back, the door closing behind them.

"Sorry. Wolf trumps dog."

"Maybe. But not a whole pack." Dean says, whistling and Colonel and all the dogs he had let loose earlier came running.

Chef Leo then tries to hurry back inside, but I had gotten there and locked the door, smirking at him. He then tries to climb the fence, but can't and then gets mauled by all the dogs. Kind of a nasty sight and I had to look away at times, but he was soon killed. Once he was killed, I unlocked the door and let Dean in.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." I nod. "Thank god it's over now."

"Right. Now let's go make sure Sam's alright."

I nod and we hurry to the kitchen to make sure he's alright. He's still laying there knocked out.

"Hey. For the love of god Sammy. Hey, Sammy. Zeke. Whoever the hell you are. Hey. Come on. Don't make me lick your damn face. Hey." He shakes him and he wakes up.

"Oh thank god you're alright Sam." I sigh.

"Come on." Dean says and we help Sam up to his feet.

"So what do we do with Colonel?" I ask as we head back out to the car.

"Well we can't bring him on the road with us. Not a good place for a dog to be. Put him up for adoption again. And I know the right people to give him to."

"When you called up about adopting him, we couldn't believe it."

"Aren't you the sweetest?"

_Ugh. Back off, tofu-breath._

"Oh, you must be starving. Lucky for you, I baked some vegan doggy cupcakes.

_I'm gonna be pooping wheat grass with these two._

"Look, I know they're hippie freaks, but they're gonna give you a good home...one that you deserve."

_Yeah, yeah._

"Wish we could take you on the road with us, but it's no life for a dog."

_Don't sweat it. I get carsick anyway. I was afraid to tell you earlier, but I barfed in your backseat._

"You..."

_What?_

"I'm gonna miss you buddy."

_I'll miss you too. And by the way, as an honorary dog, there's something you should know. Dog's aren't really man's best friend._

"What are you talking about?"

_I know it sounds like a conspiracy theory, but the real reason we were put here was to..._

Then Colonel just starts barking.

"Put here to do what?" Dean asks, but he can no longer hear him talk anymore, just barking.

"Oh, you got to be kidding me. Oh, now the spell wears off?! Okay."

He says bye to Colonel one last time before coming back out to Sam and I, where Sam was waiting outside the car, while I was sleeping in the backseat.

"How did it go?"

"Well, bad news is I'm gonna miss the fleabag. Good news is, it looks like the spell is finally wearing off. You okay? The Stetson man got you pretty good."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I...I just, uh...I can't stop thinking about what he said."

"Oh come on Sammy. Guy was out of his freaking gourd."

"Yeah, but, I mean, why...why would he ask that? Why...why did he want to know what I was?"

"Who the hell knows? He was all jacked up on juice you know? He was possessed by...by something he couldn't control. It was...it was just a matter of time before it completely took over. You can't reason with crazy, right?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I do. Trust me Sam. You got nothing to worry about."

And then they get into the car, as I was sleeping in the back after a long night, pulling out of the parking lot of the vegan bakery.


	7. Heaven Can't Wait

**Rexford, Idaho**

There's a man in an old, abandoned building he's made home, listening to a crisis hot line on the phone.

"Sir? Sir can you hear me? Please...please just say something. Are you still there? Keep talking, and I can help you through this. Please sir, if you can hear me, stay on the phone. It may feel hopeless right now, but...but you called the hot line for a reason. There's some part of you that still wants to live...some part that knows suici-" She gets cut off by the man hanging up the phone.

He then opens a drawer and takes out a gun he had there, cocking it and holding it to his head, ready to kill himself. But then he looks at a picture of a woman and child and starts to break down, putting the gun down and back in the drawer. He then hears floorboards creak and turns to see if anyone's there. Another man comes out from hiding.

"Who are you? Did the lady from the hot line send you?"

"No. You did."

He then steps forward and puts a hand over the man's face which ends up lighting up pink. The whole room glows pink and then he explodes.

In the meantime at a gas station, Cas is working, renamed as Steve. He watches two other men in the store as they're getting coffee, mimicking everything they do.

"Morning Steve."

"Bill. High...five."

"Sorry I'm late. I had to drop the baby off at daycare, then hit every red light on the way here, but I guess I shouldn't have worries. Place looks great. Coffee urns."

"Uh, full."

"Dairy case."

"Stocked."

"Okay, Steve, last question. Where have you been all my life? You're not like the other sales associates. There's...something different about you."

"I can assure you there's...there's not."

"I know these things. You're...mm. You're special."

She disappears into the back to get ready to work while Cas takes the top newspaper seeing the headlining story of the man that had blown up the night before.

"That's your big news, is that you translated the tablet into...doodles?" Sam asks Kevin as we're looking at the translations that Kevin gave us.

"Yeah, what is all this anyway, I don't understand it."

"It's Cuneiform. I...I hit a wall translating the tablet into English. But I found an ancient codex linking angel script to proto-elamite cuneiform, and I was able to translate the tablet and the footnotes into elamite, which is..."

"Doodles."

"It's extinct."

"Well, can you read it?"

"No one can. Scholars have tried for centuries."

"So it's a dead end?"

"Great." I sigh as we put down the doodle translations.

"Not quite. Now, most proto-elamite is abstract, but I was able to decipher one phrase from Metatron's footnotes. Falling angels."

"I think we've already got that covered, and it's already happened. "

"Brooke..."

"What? He's just speaking of what's already happened. We want to know how to fix it and put them all back in Heaven." I say, getting frustrated as I sit.

"Just relax alright? We're all frustrated here, and it's going to do no good to get pissed off right now." Dean tries to calm me down.

"So, the footnotes refer to Metatron's spell?" Sam asks.

"Maybe."

"Okay." Sam sighs, before going over to the bookcase and grabbing a few books. "Well, maybe if we can decipher the footnotes, then we can reverse the spell and..."

"Put those winged dicks back to Heaven. Where do we start?"

"Research." Sam states, putting a book down in front of each of us. "We comb through the library, see if we can find anything else on elamite."

"Zimmerman's Encyclopedia of Extinct Languages Volume 1: Adai To Atakapa. How many volumes are there?"

"24. Don't worry, we've got them all."

"Awesome."

Just then, Dean's phone goes off as the rest of us go through the books to look up the elamite.

"There is a god." Dean says jokingly as he answers his phone. "Hello."

"I may have a case for you. Four missing in Rexford, Idaho. Presumed dead, but no bodies have been released to loved ones. And there were reports of a strange substance at the scenes."

"Oh, well, hello to you too Cas. How are you?"

"I...am busy."

"Alright. So how do you want to do this? You want to meet up at the latest scene? You want me to pick you up? What?"

"Um, I've got my hands full over here." He replies as he tries to fix the slushee machine he just basically let all of the blue slushee out of. "I just...um..."

"Cas? Hello?"

"...thought you would want to know about the case." He hangs up so he can fix the problem.

"Hey, are you sure everything's..." Dean says, but there's the click of him hanging up. "Okay."

"So who was that?" I ask as he comes back to the table.

"Come on, you're gonna come with me for this. Pack some stuff up."

"Dean, what's going on? Who was that?"

"Cas." He says as he heads towards the bedrooms.

"Cas?" I ask, causing the three of us to get up and follow.

"So, he said nothing about where he is or...or what he's been doing?"

"This is Cas. In case you forgot, he's not exactly Chatty Cathy."

"And you're not even gonna see him when you're in Idaho?"

"Well like I said, as long as he's catnip for angels, he's keeping his distance."

"So...then what's the point Dean? I mean, it's barely even a case."

"That's why we're just gonna go have a little look-see, and we're not gonna waste a whole lot of manpower on a big pile of nada."

"In other words, a perfect excuse to bail out on research."

"You got me." Dean agrees before we head out the door.

"Hey Steve, I found this in the supply closet. Do you know whose it is?" The woman who walked in earlier asked as she showed Cas the bag of toothpaste and a toothbrush.

"Um...that's mine. Thanks."

"I also found a rolled up sleeping bag behind the tool locker."

"Yes, I wanted to be thorough with inventory, so I worked late last week, and taking a nap here was easier than going back home to my bed. Which I...I have, of course...a bed...and a home."

"Wow Steve. You're so...responsible. I've been afraid to ask. I...I don't want to take advantage of you as my employee, and I certainly don't want to jeopardize our working relationship. But as a working single mom, it's hard enough to get a date, let alone meet a really great guy. And tomorrow's my night off, and I know you're off too, and I was just wondering if there's any change you're...free tomorrow night?"

"Um...yes? Yes."

"You're the best!"

In the meantime after making the trip to Idaho, Dean and I had made our way to the crime scene of where the man disappeared.

"So uh, four missing?" Dean asks as we're lead up to the roped off house to go inside.

"Four dead. Just got confirmation."

"And uh, any common threads you can think of?"

"Well, Joe in there had the suicide hot line on speed dial. The gal before him was a shut in. Had enough antidepressants in her medicine cabinet to stock a pharmacy. The first victims, a married couple out of Sugar City. Pretty much a walking billboard for no fault divorce."

"Were they all basket cases?"

"If you asked me to make a list of this county's saddest sacks, these four would've been right on top."

"Huh."

"Alright, so four unhappy people, one of them definitely suicidal. But you've ruled out suicide?"

"You're gonna want to put these on." He says, giving us gloves and everything to protect ourselves as we walked inside.

"Oh my...what happened in here?"

"This look like suicide to you?"

"Blood?"

"If the tests come back same as the others, it's everything. Blood, skin, hair, nails, internal organs, even clothing fibers...like these poor souls got run through the world's finest wood chipper."

"What about witnesses?"

"Same as the rest. Neighbors reported some kind of a pink flash. By the time we got here, all that was left was...this."

"But pink though? Looks like a powder thing blew up for something. Everything blowing up at once can't cause a pink color right?"

"We honestly don't know."

After poking around the crime scene for a bit, we leave and get back into the Impala, leaving. We stop somewhere to change before stopping at a gas station, which Dean realizes Cas works at. He then calls Sam and asks how the research is going.

"Yea, we're almost through the texts over here. We got nothing."

"Have you tried professor Morrison?"

"Yeah, he's unreachable. He took a sabbatical to live amongst the trobrianders of Papua New Guinea. Needless to say, we're pretty burnt."

"Well, there's one guy there who is nothing if not well rested."

"Crowley?"

"I'm just saying. We're not keeping him chained up for the one liners."

"It's worth a shot I guess."

"Just be careful, alright? Don't fall for any of his quid pro quo crap."

"Noted. So, what about you guys? How's Cas' lead panning out?"

"Four victims suddenly exploded. We tried EMF, we've looked for hex bags, sulfur...nada."

"Spontaneous combustion? Maybe the Thules?"

"No no no. We already ruled them out. The bodies were vaporized. They weren't burned."

"That sounds like a real case. Dean, I should be there."

"No man. That's...that's uh...not necessary. No, I uh...we got this one covered."

"He dumped me, Jace. In the cafeteria. In front of everyone. It's just like...who does that, you know? Like, why couldn't he just dump me on Facebook like a normal person? I've been destroyed. Socially and romantically totaled." A girl at the local high school says as she's on the phone to a friend. "I know. Just so embarrassed Jace. I could just die."

"I can help with that." The man from the night before shows up and he too makes the girl explode, pink going everywhere.

But back at the gas station where we were, Cas was working the register.

"Good day, ma'am." He says after handing a customer her lottery ticket. "And good luck."

Little did Cas know, we were behind her in line, and we had stepped up next once she left.

"I'll have some beef jerky and a pack of menthols."

"What are you two doing here?"

"Gee, it's nice to see you too Cas."

"It's Steve now. And...you...you surprised me."

"Well, the feeling is mutual. I mean, I knew you had to lay low from the angel threat, but uh, wow! This is some cover."

"My grace is gone, what did you expect? Do you have any idea how hard it was? When I fell to Earth, I didn't just lose my powers. I..."

"You what?" I ask.

"I had nothing. Now...I'm a sales associate."

"A sales associate?"

"Hey Steve, sign here." A man comes up with a clipboard.

"I'm responsible for inventory, sales, customer service. I keep this place..."

"Thank you."

"Thank you. Clean and presentable. And when my manager's busy, I even prepare the food."

"Wow. So you went from fighting heavenly battles to nuking taquitos?"

"Nachos too."

"I've been politely asking for reading material for weeks, and this is what you bring me?" Crowley asks as Sam gives him Kevin's doodle translations. "Pass."

"Can you read elamite or not?"

"It's by no means my favorite of the ancient tongues, but yes."

"Will you help us read it?"

"Why on Earth would I?"

"Because I was there that night. I saw what humanity did to you. Like it or not, there's a little part of you that's not a douche."

"Sorry, Moose. To the last drop."

"Crowley, the only reason you're alive is because my brother thought you would be useful. So far you've done jack. Back to plan 'B' I guess."

"Which is?"

"Give you up tp Abaddon."

"You think you can threaten me with that hack?! She's all fury, no finesse."

"I'm not so sure. Our last encounter with Abaddon, she was uh...she was pretty terrifying. Scarier than you've been in years."

"Bring that to me." Crowley says about the translations, and Sam does only for Crowley to crumple it up and throw it in his face.

"This is not you man. You are above this. Come on."

"No Dean. I'm not. I failed at being an angel. Everything I ever attempted came out wrong. But here, at least I have a shot at getting things right. I guess you can't see it. But there's a real dignity in what I do...a human dignity."

"Hate to interrupt you guys, but Steve? Customer had an accident in the men's room."

"I'm on it."

"Oh and tonight...7:00 at my place work for you?"

"Great."

"You're the best!"

"That's what this is about!"

"What?"

"The girl."

"Ooooh, Cas has got a crush on someone." I grin.

"No Dean. It's not. Nora...she's a very nice woman, I'm pretty sure she's not a reaper intent on killing me, and she's asked me out. Going on dates...that's something human do right?"

"Yeah. I mean my dates usually end when I run out of singles, but uh yeah."

I scoff and smack him on the arm.

"Is that one of the reasons why we haven't been on a date in a while?"

Before he could answer though, his phone goes off.

"This is Agent Lee Ermey. We'll be right there. There was another kill over at the high school. You coming Cas?"

"I wouldn't be much use. I don't have my powers."

"So? We've never had powers."

"You two are hunters."

"And you're a hunter in training, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. You said I sucked."

"I didn't say that. I said that there was uh, uh, you know, room for improvement. Come on."

"Alright, my shift's over in five minutes and my date's not until later so..."

"Attaboy! We'll go get the car."

"Not just yet. I have to clean the bathroom."

After he had cleaned the bathroom, we had gotten the car and Cas got in, then we headed off to the high school. We show our badges to the police so that we could get through and we find the same guy we questioned earlier. Dean and I head there while Cas checks out the pink stuff all over the side of the bus.

"One second we're talking, and the next, she just...stops. And then everyone in the cafeteria freaks, rushing and pointing out the window at...could...could that really be her?"

"And nobody saw anybody else at the scene...a man, a woman, anything unusual?"

The girl just shakes her head.

"Was your friend depressed?" I ask.

"Depressed?"

"Any thoughts of suicide?"

"Ew. No. I mean, she was kind of bummed that dick bag Travis broke up with her in front of the whole school."

"Kind of bummed?"

"Yeah. Like more bummed than when she got a 'C' on a quiz, And...less bummed than when her parents split up. Kind of...bummed."

"Excuse us." Dean says as he gets my attention and we go and find Cas since he had disappeared, and we end up finding him by the car.

"Cas, what's wrong?"

"I've seen this before."

"You have?"

"What? Where?"

"In Heaven."

"An angel did this?"

"It's no ordinary angel. Guys, this is bad. This is very bad."

"What do you mean very bad?" I ask as he gets into the car.

"On the battlefields of Heaven, there was a special class of angel, the Rit Zien. It's Enochian for 'Hands of Mercy'. They functioned like medics. They tended to the wounded. They healed those who could be healed. But for the mortally wounded, those who were past saving, the Rit Zien's job was to put them down."

"But the granulated bodies?"

"This was their special ability. They had this way of smiting that was so quick and so total that it rendered death virtually painless."

"Yeah, but these aren't wounded angels that they're vaporizing, they're people."

"Right. I don't know. The Rit Zien home in on pain, it's like a beacon to them. So when this angel fell to Earth, he heard the victims' cries, their anguish, same as he'd hear an angel's in Heaven. He's continuing his heavenly work down here. One suffering human at a time."

"Yeah, but this last victim was not suffering. She was just a normal, moody kid."

"But he just got here. The ebb and flow of human emotion...Dean, I've been on Earth for a few years, and I've only begun to grasp it. To him, pain is pain."

"So everybody's fair game?"

"Seems so."

"Alright, well we got to stop him."

"You two have to stop him."

"You're scared."

"It's different now Dean. Everything feels different."

"You're right. Alright, we'll track down this uh, Kevorkian wannabe, and we'll put him down."

"Okay."

"You stay safe and go on that date alright? Go live a normal life."

"Okay."

"Well?" Dean asks when Cas doesn't get out.

"I need a ride."

"Right."

"I'll do it. But I want something in return." Crowley says as Sam comes back in, about the translations.

"Yeah, what's that?"

"A telephone call. Come on Moose. Even Dahmer got one telephone call."

"Seriously? You want to let Crowley communicate with Abaddon?" Kevin questions as Sam tells him what Crowley wants, after returning upstairs. "A kind and a power made knight of hell isn't enough for you? Want to throw a demonic team up into the mix?"

"I don't think so. I mean, I don't trust Crowley either. But I can't honesty see him working with Abaddon. He hates her too much."

"You said it. You can't trust him.

"We don't have to. Look Crowley's bound. We end the call whenever we want. Even if he wanted to give Abaddon information, he has none to give her. He doesn't even know where the bunker is."

"He says he can decrypt the translation? What if he's lying?"

"You're right. We're gonna need proof."

"What are these?" Sam asks as they return to Crowley with the translations, sliding one page in front of him.

"Ingredients."

"More specific."

"Ingredients for a spell. Heart of a nephilim. Cupid's bow. Grace of an angel."

"And the rest of them." Kevin says, giving him the rest.

"Phone call. You'll get the rest when I get paid. Now, who's gonna be a dear and open up a vein?"

It's now nightfall and we had arrived at Cas' manager's house, dropping him off for the supposed date.

"Okay."

"Thanks Dean."

"Cas. Wait. I can't let you do this."

"What?"

"What are you talking about Dean? You have to."

"You're gonna wear that on a date?" Dean asks, referring to the vest from work.

"It's all I have."

"Okay. Uh, lose the vest."

"What're you..."

"Lose the vest. Come on. That's a little better. Alright. There we go. Alright. And now your buttons...why don't you unbutton it?"

"Okay."

"Th...that's far enough, Tony Manero. Um...yeah. Good. Alright. Listen to me. Always open the door for her, okay? Ask a lot of questions. They like that. And uh...oh, if she says she's happy to go dutch, she's lying. Alright? Go get 'em, tiger."

Cas breathes deep before getting out and walking up to the front door.

"Well aren't you the sweet one. Giving him the right advice." I grin, leaning over the seat, and then kissing him briefly. "You know when we're all done with this angel problem, you should really take me out on another date. I miss our dates."

"I will remember that. Just like that kiss."

"I'm full of surprises." I grin before climbing into the front seat, watching Cas with him.

He goes up to the front door and then cuts off one of the roses from the plant on the porch.

"Awww."

"Nice touch."

He then shoos us away and Dean finally gets the motion and starts the car and goes to drive off but there's a truck in the way and he's back up.

"What are you doing, jackass?"

"He's getting a little too close..."

"Hey!"

After seeing Dean wave his hand, the guy moves forward a bit and then Dean pulls out and goes down the road.

"Steve! I'm so glad you're here. Come in. I thought I was gonna be late!"

"Late for what?"

"My date. Bowling, would you believe it? But damned if I'm not dressing fancy, even for bowling. Haven't had an excuse to doll up since Tanya was born. And there she is, my little angel. Now, she's already been fed. She'll probably sleep the whole time, and I'll only be gone a couple of hours. I just couldn't get my usual sitter, and I needed somebody here just in case she wakes up and starts crying, which she won't, I promise. Baby Tanya never cries. Wish me luck. Oh, and thank you. You really are the best."

He puts the rose down on the counter and buttons his shirt back up.

"Babysitting." He says before Tanya starts to cry.

"A-bup-bup-bup."

"What?"

"Not yours. His." Crowley motions to Kevin.

"What difference does it make?"

"I'ave had yours. Stuck in here, you can't fault me for wanting a little variety."

"No way!"

"What's wrong, short round? Afraid of needles?"

"No, I just have a policy of not giving blood to anyone who's murdered my mother."

"I have nothing but time."

"You're a dick."

"Good luck with that translation."

Kevin then takes a needle and gets some of his blood for Crowley, and it gets squirted back into a bowl for him.

"Inferni sectatores, nunc audite regem. This is Crowley. Connect me to...Crowley. Bad connection. Crowley. Your king. If you don't connect me to Abaddon right away, I will be forced to..."

"What? What happened?"

"I've been placed on hold."

In the meantime, Tanya is still crying and Cas is kind of anxious and everything.

"Hello? Um...please...please don't. Um...okay." He says, picking her up and holding her.

"Okay, okay. How 'bout...how 'bout a lullaby? Um...okay. Shh. Shh! Look at what's happening to me. I can't believe it myself. Suddenly I'm up on top of the world. It should've been somebody else. Oh, believe it or not, I'm walkin' on air. I never thought I would feel so Free-e-e. Flyin' away on a wing and a prayer. Who could it be? Believe it or not, it's just me. Believe it or not, it's just me. Shh." He finishes as he goes to put her down to sleep, only for her to cry again. "I know, I know."

"Sheriff?" Dean asks as we're driving and his phone rings.

"Now here's a wrinkle. Our first crime scene, married couple? Full analysis of the spray came in from the lab. Turns out it only contains the wife's DNA.

"The husband's still out there." Dean states as he hangs up and then turns the car around.

"What's wrong?"

"Apparently the husband of that married couple is still out there. In the pink spray, it only found the wife's DNA."

"Nobody told you. Nobody explained. You're just shoved out kicking and screaming into this human life, without any idea why any of it feels the way it feels, or why this confusion, which feels like it's hair's breadth from terror or pain. You know, just when you think you do understand, it'l turn out you're wrong. You didn't understand anything at all. Guess that's just how it is when you're new at this. You know, it wasn't that long ago when all I'd need to do to ease your pain was touch you. You're very warm. Is that normal? Oh. Shh. Shh. Shh. Shh."

"He was already a bit screwy, but then he found religion. She was a hard line atheist, no peach herself. When he got himself obsessed with this Buddy Boyle whack job, an already bad marriage got worse. Kept telling to 'let God in'."

"Buddy Boyle. That explains it."

"Explains what?"

"Never mind, let's see. Is that his truck?" Dean asks looking at a picture he found of them.

"Yep."

"Cas." Dean states throwing the picture down and quickly hurrying out of there.

I thank the sheriff for his time and quickly follow behind.

"Dean? What's wrong now?"

"Cas is in danger. Let's go."

"What do you mean in danger, what's..."

"Just come on!"

"Nora, she's hot. She's really hot. Please just call...call me. Call...call back. If I don't hear back, I'm taking her to the hospital. Okay Tanya, we're taking a little walk." Cas says, leaving with her, but when he opens the front door, there's the man with the truck.

"Hello, Castiel. No wonder she cries."

"It's a fever, Ephraim. It will pass."

"You remember my name? I was just a nobody when we met, but you...you were a legend. You've been here before. This is my first time, and it's...intense."

"I know there's a lot you don't understand about humanity at first, but if you would just stop..."

"Stop? I won't stop. Until I wash the planet clean of all suffering. Allow me."

"Don't...touch...her."

"You think I came for her? No Castiel. I came for you."

"How long's it gonna take to transfer a demonic phone call?" Sam asks Crowley, getting impatient.

"Can it, Moose."

"Crowley, you got your call."

"Yeah, it's time."

"It's time when I bloody well say it's time! Hello Abaddon."

"Crowley, how in the hell are you?"

"So much pain and despair, so many voices begging out for relief." Ephraim explains.

"How'd you find me?"

"Because you're warded? The same way I find all my patients...I just followed the sound of your pain. You have no idea how loud it is. I could hear you for miles."

"Do you really think you're doing Heaven's work down here?"

"I know I am."

"You're wrong. Earth can be a hard place. But these humans, they can get better. They're just doing the best they can."

"Is that what you think you're doing Castiel...the best you can? Well I'm sorry. But if this is the best that the famed Castiel can do, you're a more urgent case than I thought. I used to admire you. You failed more often than you succeeded. But at least you played big."

He notices the symbol he was writing in blood on the door, and snatches his hand.

"Now what are you doing? Burying your head in the sand? Right when your kind needs you the most."

"How are the numbers?" Crowley asks Abaddon.

"You mean souls? I've managed to double on your projections. Now, how did I ever pull off such a feat?"

"You're taking souls before their time. Voiding my contracts."

"That's right. I'm taking it all down. Brick by brick. It's over. The days of Crowley, the king of bureaucrats, are done."

"Shhh. It'll be over soon. I'll take the pain away." Ephraim says to Cas.

"I want to live."

"But as what, Castiel? As an angel or a man?"

That's when Dean bursts through the door, and gets taken out.

"Dean!"

"Don't worry about me. Protect the baby." He says as we hear Tanya crying.

I go to do so, but I'm taken out as well.

"You..putrescent..skanger." Crowley insults Abaddon.

"It may look like bean counting to you, it may lack a certain adolescent flair, but my way...works! You think you can control Hell with chaos alone, without the support of those who are still loyal to me?!"

"No one's seen you in weeks, and last I saw you, howdy and doody had you tied up nice and tight. Seems to reason, they've turned you into a kennel dog. How does it feel Crowley, to be the Winchesters' bitch? It's been fun indulging in your bluffs, but we both know you have no real authority left, no leverage, you have nothing to offer me. You have nothing."

"Your way will backfire. You will burn."

"I can't wait."

With that, the conversation was over.

"Crowley?"

"Bring me the translations. I keep my agreements. Obtain the ingredients...heart, bow, grace. Blah, blah, blah. Mix until the smoke shall rise from the ashes casting the angels from Heaven. Blah, blah...oh. Hm. It's irreversible."

"What?"

"The spell can't be undone. The new world order...we're stuck with it."

"You say you want to live, but you can't see what I see. By choosing a human life, you've already given up. You chose death." Ephraim states before starting to kill him.

"No!" I exclaim and rush over the best I can and kill Ephraim myself.

After the ordeal, we got rid of the body and clean up a bit before Nora would come home. After everything was set, Dean and I went outside, just as Dean's phone went off and it was Sam.

"Well, there's no way. Crowley's lying."

"No Dean, not this time. Look, Metatron built the spell with no intentions to reverse it. There's no putting the angels back in Heaven. It's done. Are you gonna tell Cas?"

"I'm uh sorry. I overreacted. My friend gave me a tip. A low does of Acetaminophen brought the fever right down."

"Oh, that's okay. Date was a bust anyway. Steve? The part of you that overreacted, that cares so much? That's what makes you special."

"I got to go." Dean says as Cas comes back to the car. "Where to Cas?"

He says nothing as he gets into the car. Sam in the meantime dumps the blood and washes it down the sink. That's when he notices the package of needles. He opens it and sees ones missing, before heading back into the dungeon to see Crowley injecting himself. The next morning, we drop Cas off at the gas station.

"Listen Cas, back at the bunker, I uh...sorry I told you to go. I know it's been hard on you, you know, on your own. Somehow you're adapting. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you Dean. But there's something the Ephraim said. The angels...they need help. Can I really sit this out? Shouldn't I be searching for a way to get home?"

"Me, Sam and Brooke, we'll take care of the angels. You're human now. It's not your problem anymore."

Cas then gets out of the car, waves slightly to us and then we pull off after he goes inside, resuming his sales associate job.


	8. Bad Boys

**Hurleyville, New York**

There are a couple kids, running around in the dark, seems like they're running away from something or someone. One of them ends up tripping and falling.

"Wait up!"

"Hurry! He's right behind us."

They get to their feet and start to run again.

"Come on, come on! Hurry!"

They reach a barn and go inside, running to the back. It seems another is chasing them, as he goes into the barn.

"Come on guys. The barn is a no-fly zone during hide-and-go-seek."

"Boys?" A faint voice calls out to them, causing the one kid to run and hide.

"Come on, you delinquents. Time for bed! Alright! Game is over boys! Let's bring it in! Lights out was 10 minutes ago! You little bastards. Okay, I'm gonna..." The man trails off before breathing and seeing that it's extremely cold. "You got till the count of 10, and you better come out or the belt's coming off! 1..." He trails off again as he flashlight starts to go all crazy. "Come on."

Just then, the tractor in the barn roars to life.

"Boys?"

The lights on the tractor then come on and the gears are put in place and it starts to move towards him. He trips on a rock and it isn't long before he's impaled with the spikes on the tractor.

In the meantime with us back at the bunker, Dean and I were busy in our bedroom, since we were taking advantage of the time we had to ourselves after not having anything to do.

"Dean?" We hear Sam call faintly, but being caught up in the kiss we were in the middle of now, Dean didn't want to move.

"Kevin?" Sam calls for him, but no one answers.

He then grabs a book off the shelf, a book about Oz and sits down to read it before a noise is heard. He looks over and it's Dean's phone on vibrate, going off.

"Ugh, that's my phone."

"Let it just go." I say, continuing the kiss.

"...it could be important..."

"...fine. Go."

"I will be back, so save those lips for me." He winks before getting up from the bed and heading out of the room.

Sam in the meantime answers the phone.

"Hello? I'm sorry, there's no, uh...there's no D-Dawg, uh.."

"I got it. I got it." Dean says, taking the phone from Sam. "Sonny, hey. So, what's up? Okay. Alright. Yeah, just sit tight. i'll be there as soon as I can. Yeah."

"So, what was that all about, D-Dawg?"

"You remember when we were kids that spring in upstate New York? Dad was on a Rugaru hunt. We uh, we crashed at the uh...The Bungalow Colony with the ping pong table."

"Yeah. You disappeared. Dad came back. You were gone. He shipped me off to Bobby's for a couple months, and went and found you. You were lost on a hunt or something."

"That's what we told you. Right."

"I'm sorry, that's what you told me?"

"Truth is, um...I lost the food money that dad left for us in a card game. I knew you'd get hungry, so I tried taking the five finger discount at the local market and got busted. I wasn't on a hunt. They sent me to a boys' home."

"A boys' home, like a reform school?"

"Yeah, more or less. It was a farm, and the guy who ran it...Sonny...he uh...you know, he looked after me."

"Wait. Does Sonny know what we do?"

"Yeah. He's good people. I gave him the number to the bat phone, and sounds like he's got something in our wheelhouse. So...hey, you gonna be cool to do this, or are you too tired?"

"Uh, no. Yeah, I'm just, uh...I'll be fine."

And everybody's okay with heading out to the Catskills?"

"I am everybody."

"Yeah. Right. Alright. Grab your stuff, and we'll head out."

"Hey Dean...I mean, why didn' t you just tell me you went to a boys' home?"

"I don't know. Uh, it was dad's idea. And then it just...you know, the story became the story. I was 16."

"So, what's going on?" I ask when Dean comes back into the bedroom.

"I believe we have a case."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and old friend. Pack your things and we'll get going."

After a long drive for days, we ended up in New York and pulled up to this nice looking house.

"You were here for two months and Dad couldn't find you?"

"Oh, no. He found me. He found me quick. But he left me here 'cause I lost our money."

"You were 16. You made a mistake."

"Yeah. I made the mistake. Look, I know ho you think None of this was Dad's fault." Dean explains before we walk up to the front door and knock, a woman answering.

"Hi."

"What can I do for you three?"

"I'm Dean. This is my brother, Sam. My girlfriend Brooke. Sam and I are old buddies of Sonny's."

"Prison buddies?"

"No. Uh, you mind telling him that we're here?"

"I'll go get him. I just mopped this floor, so you take off those roach stompers." She refers to our shoes.

"Sonny's an ex con huh?"

"What, and we're such angels? Trust me, he's more than made up for it." Dean says as we remove our shoes and walk inside.

_"Steven Hewlett caught him red handed stealing up at his store."_

_"So, what did he take?"_

_"Get this. Peanut butter and bread."_

_"Okay. And how about family?"_

_"Well, his old man called. Once he found out what happened, he said let him rot in jail. Judge is off on a fishing trip. The boy's too young to leave in county. So we thought it best he stay here till arraignment."_

_"I don't see why not man."_

_"Appreciate it Sonny."_

_"Where'd you get the shiner?"_

_"You think that's funny?" The officer asks young Dean. _

_"I think you're slow."_

_"You sucker punched me!"_

_"You wish!"_

_"Come on now Billy. I got this buddy. It's alright. You shouldn't do that kid."_

_"Yeah? Why? Because he's a cop?"_

_"Because when you make him mad, he leaves with the key. Eh, don't sweat it." Sonny says as he grabs something to open the cuffs with, and sees the cuts on Dean's hands. "Deputy do that? What, your old man? Well then, how'd you get it?"_

_"Werewolf."_

_"Okay." He says as he gets the cuffs off. _

_"So, how do you know I won't just run away?"_

_"Because you're hungry."_

_"No I'm not."_

_"Well then, why'd you steal bread and peanut butter?" Sonny asks, and Dean just shrugs._

_"So what is this place anyway?"_

_"It's for boys like you. You work the land. Teaches you some discipline and responsibility. Keeps you out of trouble."_

_"That's lame."_

_"Beats jail. Come on. I'll fix you something to eat."_

"D-Dawg!" A man greets Dean as he comes into the room, who Sam and I assume to be Sonny.

"Sonny, good to see you."

"Hey you too brother. Oh, and this must be Sam."

"Good to meet you."

"Back at you brother."

"I'm Brooke." I introduce myself.

"Ah, so you're the girlfriend Dean's been telling me so much about."

"In the flesh."

"So, farm looks, uh..nice."

"Oh please man. It's barely standing. Only got a handful of kids working around here now."

"Why's that?"

"Because these days, the system would rather incarcerate a boy than redeem him."

"Hey Sonny, uh...y-you mind if we talk alone?" Sam asks, referring to the woman who answered the door that was cleaning.

"Hey Ruth, would you uh, please go check on the boys. Make sure their morning chores are getting done?"

"Alright. So, what's happening?"

"Well, you remember Jack don't you?"

"Yeah. The uh...tough, old leatherneck."

"Mmhmm. Well, somehow that ancient, rusty, broken down tractor just roared to life and ran him over the other night."

"Maybe...maybe it just uh, slipped out of park or something."

"Couldn't have. You know, I never...I never believed any of this mumbo jumbo stuff you three are into, but...something ain't right."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, just things started happening...you know, lights flickering on and off, strange scratching sounds coming from inside the walls, windows and doors slamming."

"Alright. You think you could round up the boys while we take a look around?"

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem. Most are home on break...well, except those with no home worth going to."

"Mm. Alright. Why don't you take the house, Brooke, you take a look around the house, and I'll check out the barn."

"Yeah, of course." I nod, following Dean out so I can look around outside and Sam stays inside to look around.

After looking around inside, he goes to where the kids stay, coming across a bed with duct tape on it and a name written on it, tearing off the tape to reveal all who used the bed, finally coming to Dean's name. Just then there's rustling in the other room that grabs Sam's attention and some indistinct talking. He pulls out a knife and cautiously heads towards the room, only to reveal Ruth inside, praying.

"Hey. I am so sorry. I..I..I thought I...saw something in, uh..."

"Like a ghost? Sonny told me you were old friends, but I know why you're really here. That's why I was praying for us."

"Praying for what?"

"For the ghost that haunts the farm to leave."

Dean in the meantime had went to the barn to take a look around, and he comes across the tractor that killed Jack. So he pulled out the EMF meter and it was going off the charts as expected.

"Alright Casper...where are you at?"

He then hears a boy laughing in the distance and goes to check it out.

"Hello? Anybody here?" He calls out, turning around and finding a boy there. "Hey kid, what are you doing in here by yourself?"

"Fighting monsters."

"What kind of monsters?"

"All sorts with Bruce the Monster Smasher." He explains, holding up an action figure of his.

"Hmm. Is that a cape? Little impractical for smashing monsters huh? You know, you could choke."

"I clobber evil!" The action figure says.

"I bet you do. I'm Dean."

"Timmy."

"Let's try that again. If you're gonna be a man, you got to learn how to shake like one okay? So give me your best kung fu grip. Good. Now look me straight in the eye. Let me know that you mean business. Shake as hard as you can. That's it. You shake like that, you'll be alright. Hey Timmy, did you know Jack who worked here?"

"Mmhmm."

"What can you tell me about him?"

"He yelled a lot. He was yelling when he had his accident."

"How do you know that?"

"'Cause me and the other boys were playing here when it happened."

"Did you see anything?" Dean asks and Timmy shakes his head. "Is there anything else about that night that you can remember, anything at all?"

"It suddenly got really cold. Can I go? I have to finish my chores before Ms. Ruth gets mad."

"That Ruth...she runs a tight ship huh? Yeah, you better roll."

"I grew up in this town. I used to come up here as a little girl. The Wasserlaufs, Howard and Doreen...they used to own this farm back then. My co-worker Jack, may he rest in peace, he worked here as a farmhand. Howard was a nice man but...well, he'd get into that corn liquor. And one night he got it into his thick skull that Jack and his wife Doreen were rollign around in the hay. It wasn't true, but...but Howard's paranoia got the better of him. He tried to kill them both. Jack got away, but Doreen..."

"He killed her?"

"With a meat cleaver. Got life in jail...which for Howard ended a year ago. He always swore he'd get his revenge on poor, old Jack, and...looks like he finally got it."

"Is Howard buried here in town?"

She explains to him that he is and tells him where. Sam thanks her before going to find Dean and myself. Sam had found me first, before finding Dean and told us what he found out. We then went and found Sonny and told him that we would be taking care of the ghost problem and things should be back to normal. After that we got back into the car and headed off to the cemetary, making sure it's nightfall when we get there. We locate the grave and I stand guard as they start to dig.

"So...Dad didn't want you to tell me. How come? Was this place really so bad?"

"I don't really remember. I mean, look, nobody bad touched me. Nobody burned me with their smokes or beat me with a metal hanger. I call that a win."

"Hey." Sam says as there's a thud.

After cleaning off the coffin, they open it to reveal Howard. They get out of the grave and grab the salt and pour it all over the body.

"Alright. Let's barbecue Old MacDonald here, get the hell out of dodge." Dean says, lighting a match and throwing it into the grave.

Back at the farm, Ruth was in the tub, taking a bath, music playing in the background as she relaxed. she put a cloth over her eyes to help. The lights started to flicker and it started to get cold as the mirror froze in the bathroom. Then the shower curtain came off and started to cover her and suffocate her. She screamed for help, and Sonny came to the bathroom door after hearing everything.

"Ruth, you okay? What's wrong? Open up! Ruth!"

He couldn't get in and Ruth ended up suffocating to death. After getting the long drive we had stopped at a diner for some food. Sam and I were sitting there looking at the menu while Dean was distracted with something else.

"Dean, you know I'm fine just grabbing a burger to go somewhere right?"

"What and miss out on the best banana pancakes you ever had?"

_"Thanks."_

_"No problem. I do this for all the boys after they've been here for a month."_

_"I meant for getting the charges against me dropped."_

_"Well, being hungry's not a crime. Stealing it is. But I feel if you only do that once, you don't deserve a record. And seeing as how we can't find your pops anywhere, you can stay here as long as you want, Dean. You're doing good in school, you're making friends, you made the wrestling team. I'm proud of you. Let me ask you something. And I want you to be straight with me. Are you into the whole heavy metal, devil worshiping stuff?"_

_"What? No."_

_"Hey, I'm not...I'm not judging. It's just I found a few occult-looking symbols carved into your bedpost."_

_"It's...it's a very long story."_

_"That story have anything to do with why you put the salt in front of your bunk door every night before bed?"_

_"Well it's a family thing, so I can't really talk about it."_

_"Same family that left you here? What are you...what are you, in the mob or something?"_

_"More like something."_

_"I was part of this gang, right? They were my family. I lived, breathed, I would have even died for them. You know where it got me? 15 years in a correctional facility. And for what? Being loyal? To who? I should have been loyal to myself. Because you get one shot at this game Dean, and when you look in the mirror, you want the guy looking back at you to be his own man."_

_"Hey guys."_

_"Hey Robin, how are you?"_

_"I'm good. How are you?"_

_"Good. Meet my new ranch foreman here, Dean."_

"Hi, welcome to Cus's. What can I get for you three?" A woman asks as she approaches our table.

"Bet you never thought you'd see me here huh?" Dean asks with a grin, causing Sam and I give him a look.

"Uh, look. I'm a little bit slammed right now. Do you guys want to hear the specials?"

"Robin...Dean Winchester."

"Um..."

"I used to live up at Sonny's."

"Oh, oh. Uh, look, sorry. There's just...there's so many boys that pass through there, it's...it's hard to remember every...every name and face."

"Yeah. Uh, no. Sorry, I just...I remember you coming up there with your mom. She'd give guitar lessons. It's uh...it was a long time ago."

"Yeah. Mom...she loved helping out the boys. I guess that's why I kept giving lessons after she passed. Um, would you excuse me? I'll be right back."

"Dude..." Sam starts.

"Let's go." Dean says, getting up, grabbing his jacket and starting to walk out.

"Dean..." I trail off, and we quickly grab our jackets and follow him out.

"What was that?"

"Yeah, really?"

"Nothing." Dean simply states before answering his phone.

"Nothing? Well obviously it was something. Who was that waitress?"

"Said it was nothing, alright? Drop it. Sonny. What?!"

"What is it?" I ask.

"Ruth. She's dead."

"What?"

"Yeah, we'll be there soon. Hang in there Sonny." Dean hangs up and gets into the car, and then we do and head off to the farm.

When we get there, the coroner is there and everything. We stay there to find out what happened, everyone else leaving.

"I tried to get in to save her, but the damn door wouldn't open."

"Locked?"

"There's no locks on the farm."

"That means our little field trip to the cemetary was a bust. Sonny, is there anything else weird you can remember?"

"What, 'cause we're not chest-deep in weird already?"

"I know, I know. I mean anything...really."

"There was one thing. Ruth always had her rosary beads with her, but now I can't find them anywhere."

"Alright. Um, let's start with the vics okay? I mean, both lived in the house. They both uh, worked closely with the boys."

"Alright, why don't we go have a chat with the rug rats, see what's up?" Dean suggests about him and I.

"Yeah. Sonny, you got any employee records on the victims?"

"In my office."

"Let's do it."

As Dean and I were walking, we heard some commotion a little ways ahead. What we say were two other boys picking on Timmy, the boy Dean encountered in the barn yesterday.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! Hey! What are you doing? Come here. Huh?"

"Nothing."

"Didn't look like nothing." I cross my arms over my chest.

"Timmy, what's going on? Alright you two. Where were you this morning when Ruth had her accident?"

"Unless you're cops, we don't need to tell you anything."

"Oh, okay." Dean says, motioning to me and we take out the FBI badges. Well...how about that?"

"We weren't even here this morning. Sonny sent us into town to get some chicken feed...we swear."

"Alright." I nod.

"What about Ruth? What can you tell us about her?"

"Uh, we used to cal her the warden. She was a real bible thumping hard ass."

"Obviously. What else? Anything different or weird you can think of?"

"You mean besides Timmy?"

"Hey. Either of you touch him ever again, I'm gonna go all Guantanamo on you. Understand me? Get the hell out of here. Go on! Get."

The boys go running off and Dean helps Timmy walk over the log in front of him.

"You okay Timmy?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"Listen to me. Guys like that...they're cowards, okay? All you got to do is stand up to them one time and they'll stop, I promise."

"Okay."

Sonny had led Sam into the house and after walking in, Sam had stopped and noticed all the awards on the wall.

"Sonny, wait. Um...w-what is all this?"

"It's our hall of fame. We had some pretty great athletes come through here, including your brother. He was Sullivan County 135-Pound Wrestling Champion."

In the meantime, the boys from earlier were in the front yard doing their chores, mowing the lawn and raking. Robin had shown up with a guitar for the lessons she continues from since her mom passed.

"Hey guys!"

"She could give me a lesson anytime."

"Gross. She's like ancient."

They continue their chores, until something gets caught in the mower.

"What the hell?" The boy questions, turns the mower off and turns it on it's side to find Ruth's rosary beads.

"What this doing in here?"

He then starts to pull the grass off of the blades, trying to get to the beads. Timmy is watching from upstairs, and then the mower turns on and ends up cutting at the boy's hand. We heard the commotion outside and went there running, to see what had happened, seeing the boy's hand cut up from the mower. The ambulance was called and he was checked over before being sent to the hospital.

"Kid's gonna need about 8,000 stitches, but he'll be fine." Dean says as we go inside and find Sam in Sonny's office.

"That kid was bullying Timmy before the accident, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Check this out. Timmy was found in an abandoned building about a year ago all by himself. No one was sure how long he had been there."

"And what about his parents?"

"Well they posted a picture on the internet, but no one ever showed up."

"Well, then what's he doing here? Shouldn't he be in an orphanage?"

"He kept running away from child services. So about three months again, Sonny offered to take him in."

"Alright. So hard ass counselors, bullies all bite the dust, but Timmy's still standing. So what are we talking? We got ourselves a Damien on our hands?"

"No. EMF rules out a demon. So..probably ghost possession."

"Seems likely." I nod.

"Meaning what, we find find Timmy and shove a fistful of salt down his his throat? Forced ejection? You're taking the barn this time."

When Sam goes through the barn, he comes across an attic space and he heads up there, only to find drawings all over the wall, pretty disturbing drawings at that. Dean and I were looking around the house, and he stopped in the doorway of the living room, seeing Robin playing the guitar. He stopped and stared for a few moments.

_"So, you've been a lot of places?"_

_"Yeah. My uh...my dad likes to move around a lot."_

_"What's your dad do?"_

_"Boring stuff."_

_"Do you like it?"_

_"No, not really. But my dad expects me to follow in his footsteps. So I've kind of gotten used to it."_

_"Yeah. I-I get it. My pops wants me to take over the diner, but that's not happening. So, what do you really want to do? I want to be a photographer and see the world. Go to strange lands, eat crazy food."_

_"I want to be a rock star, but...I also really like cars."_

_"Being a mechanic seems rough."_

_"What? No, no. Not at all. Cars are freaking cool as hell. Fixing them is like a puzzle, and the best part is when you're done, they leave, and you're not responsible for them anymore."_

_Just then Robin kisses him, and he's kind of taken back by it. _

_"Have you kissed many girls?"_

_"What? Yeah. Of course. Lots."_

_"Really? Well, I guess we'll just have to keep practicing."_

"Oh, hey." Robin says, looking up to see us standing there. "Uh, what happened to you at the diner? I turned around to take your order, and you were just gone."

"Long story. Um, have you seen Timmy?"

"No, not yet. But he should be here any minute for his guitar lesson."

"Yeah, we're gonna cancel that."

"What?"

"We got to get out of here, okay? I don't have time to explain. You just got to trust me...us."

"T-trust you? And why would I do that again? Trust you...yourself?"

"You do remember me."

"How could I forget?"

_"What's wrong?" Dean asks, after Robin pushes him off her slightly from the kiss they were sharing._

_"I just hope this lasts."_

_"I'm not going anywhere Robin."_

_"Yeah, says you."_

_"Well, I can't. Who else would take you to the school dance?"_

_"Is this your way of asking me to be your date, Dean Winchester?"_

_"Yeah. How am I doing so far?"_

_She just laughs and they go back to kissing. _

"There were...there were reasons why I had to leave. I don't have time to explain them to you right now. I got to get you out of here." Dean says, going over and grabbing her.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" She exclaims before the front door which was open, slams shut on it's own.

"I'm sorry." We hear Timmy say and we turn around to see him standing there.

"Sorry for what Timmy?" I ask.

"I can't stop it."

"Stop what?"

Just then, something smashes against the wall.

"Go, go, go!" Dean exclaims, rushing us into the other room.

Things start flying everywhere as we make our way to the kitchen, Dean picking up a iron fire poker from the fireplace.

"Sam, go!" Dean tells him to leave, before the door slams shut on him as well.

"Locked."

"Damn it! Brooke, check the cabinet over there for salt."

I nod and do so, finding it instantly and I make the circle for safety.

"Dean, what...what just happened in there?" Robin asks.

"Okay, listen to me. Whatever happens, you stay inside this circle. Understood?"

"Alright. Dean..." Sam trails off as Timmy is in the doorway.

"I can't control her."

"Who Timmy?"

"Your mom right?" Sam asks. "Timmy, listen. We need you to tell us about the fire okay?"

"It was late, and we were driving home when we crashed in the woods. Everything was on fire. But she saved me, pushed me out...before the car blew up...with her in it."

"But that's not all, was it?"

"I ran through the woods. I found an empty building, where I hid. I was scared. It was dark and cold. So I cried. I cried for my mom. And then she came."

"But she changed, right?"

"I'll bet she gave you that cool action figure huh?"

"Yeah. When I turned 9."

"Timmy...I'm gonna need that action figure."

Just as he goes to give it to him, something comes up and pushes Sam out of the way, and we assumed it was Timmy's mom. Dean hits her with the fire poker and she disappears momentarily. Dean takes the action figure and goes over to the stove, lighting a flame and setting the toy ablaze.

"No!"

The toy dies out, and then the wind blows, getting rid of the salt circle.

"It looks like it wasn't the action figure that was anchoring her here Dean."

"Well then, what is?!"

"Him."

"What do you mean it's him?"

"You know what? I think maybe his mom can't let go and she's still protecting him from the grave."

"Protecting him from what? What, from us?"

"Maybe she doesn't know what threats are real and what's not, so she just attacks all of them."

"Great. So, what, unless we waste the kid, we're sitting ducks?"

"This is...this is crazy." Robin says as she goes to leave.

"Robin. Robin! Damn it." Dean says, going after her. "Robin, wait!" He says as he catches her.

"Who are you?"

"Right now I'm the only thing that's keeping you safe."

She goes to run again, only to be met by Timmy's dead mother. She backs away and Dean tries to intervene, but Timmy's mother gets the iron bar out of his hands and sends him flying, and slowly tries to kill him.

"Okay Timmy you have to listen to us alright?" I ask him.

"We're gonna need your help okay?"

Timmy's mother hears us, and lets Dean go before disappearing.

"Listen to me. We need you to focus, okay? Look, we are not here to hurt you."

Just as he says that, Timmy's mother comes up and grabs him, throwing him into a wall. She holds him there with one hand using her ghostly powers as you would call it. She then takes her other hand and throws me against another wall, both of us being held there by her supernatural force.

"Sammy! Brooke!" Dean exclaims.

Timmy's mother has to let one of us go and she lets me go, in order to send Dean flying into the table and frozen there.

"Timmy...you have to help." I tell him.

"I can't stop her."

"Timmy, you have to try! She came to you when you cried out for her. Now you have to tell her to stop and go away!"

"She's my mom."

"She's a ghost. Timmy, because she can't move on, she's going crazy. Okay? You got to let her go. You'll be okay. Listen to me. Sometimes you got to do what's best for you, even if it's gonna hurt the ones you love."

"Mommy...stop it."

"Timmy, kung fu grip!"

"Mommy, stop it! Stop hurting people!"

With that she turns to look at him and lets Sam and Dean go. She holds out her arms for him.

"You have to go. Never come back. I'll be okay. I promise."

Her face then changes from scary to normal.

"I love you too."

That's all it takes for a bright light to shine and she moves on. Timmy goes right for Dean and wraps his arms around him in a hug, and we all watch on from where we were. We kind of stuck around to make sure nothing else was wrong, told Sonny what had happened, decided to head out at nightfall.

"So, then this is the family business?" Robin asks Dean.

"Told you it was boring."

"Yeah right."

"Well as you can see, I did not run off to become a rock star."

"Mm...I don't know about that. You look pretty rockin' to me, Dean Winchester."

"And what about you?"

"I mean, I always thought that I would hate being in the same little town my whole life, and you know, taking over the diner like my Dad always wanted, but...I don't. I just...I love it."

"I guess we didn't know everything we thought we did at 16 huh?"

"Not everything. Just some things."

After kissing his cheek, she then heads inside with Timmy, before coming back over to Sam, myself and Sonny.

"Sounds like Timmy's gonna need some help adjusting."

"Yeah, but he's got you."

"I always hate to see you go, D-Dawg. Can't thank you enough for this one man."

"Sonny we'll see you around."

"You can bet on that. Take it easy man."

"Hey, h-how did you know Timmy asking his mom to leave was gonna work?" Sam asks as Dean goes around to the driver's side, after I get into the back myself.

"I didn't. Total hail mary. Got lucky."

"You just got lucky? Kind of like you did with this place. I mean, here I was thinking this was the worst part of your life, and it turns out it was the best. Why'd you ever leave?"

"Never felt right."

"Really?"

"It was two months Sam, okay? And I couldn't wait to get out of here. I don't know what to tell you. It wasn't me."

_"Oh, look at you. You clean up good!"_

_"Thank you. You know uh...I've never actually been to one of these school dances before."_

_"Yeah. Look about that Dean, your old man's outside. And man, he's really something. I tried to tell him what a big night it was for you Dean, and ask him if he could come back later, but he just said to tell you he had a job, said you'd know what that means. You know, after I got out of jail, this place gave me a second chance. And it's done the same for you too. So if you want, I'll stick my neck out for you, and I'll fight for you to stay."_

_The car horn honks and Dean goes over to the window to see his father there and Sam hanging out the window playing with a plane, and he laughs._

_"Sonny...thank you...for everything. But I have to go."_

After Dean flashbacks to that, he gets into the car.

"Dean...thank you."

"For what?"

"For always being there, for having my back. Look, I know it always hasn't been easy."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about." He says, starting the car and we leave.


	9. Rock and a Hard Place

**Hartford, South Dakota**

This girl had just ended her shift at the diner, and locked up for the night. She had a container of food, and left it for the homeless man sitting outside. As she's going to her car, she hears noises that scare her so she hurries, and ends up tripping, her keys going under the car. She goes to retrieve them and takes out her mini taser in case someone was coming after her. Just then the car lifts up and a blue flame surrounds her and she disappears. She's then being dragged along and dropped into a hole, the lid being shut.

In the meantime, we're back at the bunker. Sam and I were in the kitchen, having breakfast. Well I was eating, Sam had fallen asleep. Dean comes in and gets some coffee, and a bowl, dropping it on the table, waking Sam up.

"Morning." Dean says to me, kissing me quick.

"Morning." I repeat.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Uh...yeah. Just uh...resting my head for a second. Um, how's Kevin? He uh...he find anything?"

"Uh, jack. On about four days no sleep. He looks worse than you."

"Huh. What about Crowley? Um, do you think he might be lying about the whole uh, 'Metatron's spell being irreversible' thing?"

"Oh Crowley, lie? I do know one thing. Next time that junkie's jonesing for a hit of blood, we got leverage. Seriously, you want a pillow?"

"No, I'm fine."

"You're sick."

"No, I'm not sick. I'm just, um...I feel like my battery can't recharge."

Just then Dean's phone goes off and he answers it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Dean, Jody Mills."

"Sheriff Mills. Hang on. Sam and Brooke are here too." He says, putting the phone on speaker.

"Hey, Jody."

"Hey guys. Uh...I got a bit of an oddball to pitch your direction."

"Shoot."

"A small town I cover outside of Sioux Falls...only crime to speak of being the occasional cow tipping. Then last week, four people go missing."

"Alright, so what makes you think this is our kind of weird?"

"I got a witness who says he say someone lift and SUV to nab a girl last night."

"Lift an SUV? Either it's someone who's doing too much body building or it's something supernatural. Seems worth coming over to check out. We'll be there." I remark, finishing my breakfast, putting my dishes in the sink and then heading to the bedroom to pack my bag and change of course.

We made our way to Hartford, South Dakota, meeting Jody there in the diner parking lot where she said for us to meet her.

"Sheriff. Laying off the blind dates I hope."

"Yeah, you bite your tongue boy."

"Hey. So?"

"So. Car was right over there, ass over teakettle. Now, normally if somebody would tell me that one guy lifted an SUV, I'd tell him to take a flying leap, but after what I've seen..."

"Nothing's impossible."

"Uh huh."

"And this matches up with the other missing how?" Dean asks as we go through the files she gives us.

"Well, four abductions, strong evidence left at every scene...literally."

"So, first vic was a pastor?"

"Yeah. Door of his study was punched in. And then the next too...engaged couple."

"Locked bedroom, window was ripped open."

"Mmhmm and then we have our waitress here with the topsy turvy ride."

"Any other connection among them?"

"Yeah. They were all members of Good Faith Church here. My uh..my church group back in Sioux Falls was in a tizzy over it."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"I didn't peg you for churchy."

"Yeah. You know...choking on the Ladies' Room floor 'cause of witchcraft kind of makes a higher power seem relevant."

"Jody, are you sure you're uh, ready to jump back in the fray?"

"It's totally okay if you're not." I add.

"This wackadoo stuff keeps coming. More I know, better armed I'll be."

"Okay, so we have uh, missing church folk and super strength. Maybe angels harvesting vessels? Could be a Buddy Boyle type thing."

"Wh...angels? You're joking."

"Unfortunately not."

"Don't get your pants on fire. They suck."

"You said there was a witness."

"Yeah, well...more or less. Head inside and get us a table, I'll meet you there."

"Okay." I nod, as we do so, going our seperate ways.

We get a table inside the diner, and order some coffee as we wait. Jody comes back with a man and they sit.

"Okay Slim. My friends here want to talk to you about the missing girl."

"Yes, please. Tell us everything you know."

"Honor. Her name was Honor. Nice girl. Always left me meatloafs."

"Mm."

"Slim, why don't you tell us what you saw that night?"

"I heard a big noise, got woke, and there's somebody over there lifting a car up...like this."

"And did you happen to see who it was?"

"I was too far. But I saw a light go off."

"A white light?"

"Blue. Blue like fire. But not. Then she was...she wasn't there."

"Could you think of anything else?"

"No."

"Mm. Okay. Well...Slim, thank you for your time."

"Okay, so no white light."

"No angel. Has anybody talked to the victims' families?"

"It's next on my list."

"Okay, and you said they were all part of the same church?"

"Mmhmm."

"Ready to get your worship on?"

That very day, after getting a motel room, we changed and headed off to the church and got a tour through it, before going into an office.

"We hope you enjoyed the tour. Any questions before we get you three registered?"

"Yeah, uh look, um, Ms. Futchko..."

"...oh please. Bonnie will do just fine."

"Bonnie. Okay, um...we love the church. We do. But...well, we've heard that a few members have gone missing, and to be honest...that kind of scares us."

"Let me assure you, with our increased security, good faith has never been safer. And those people who have gone missing, well they are front and center in our prayers."

"What a relief. Now, you must have been, uh...close to them."

"Well, we do share the APU bond."

"The APU?"

"Our chastity group, Abstinence purifies us."

"Oh. W..wow. You mind if we sit in on that, maybe see if it's for us?"

"I'm afraid it's members only. I'm sorry, but it can get pretty personal."

"Then count us in."

"Well. I'll be a squirrel in a skirt. I'll be back in a jiff with the papers."

"A chastity group?" Dean questions Sam as soon as she leaves the room.

"Exactly, I mean we all know very well that we're not virgins Sam." I give him a look.

"Listen, if all the members were in APU, then maybe whatever took them is stalking virgins."

"And that slim guy said he thought he saw fire. So, what are you thinking, dragons?"

"Mm. Shh." Sam says as Bonnie comes back in.

"Alrighty. You can just sign there, and your purification can begin." She says as she hands us each a clipboard.

"Purity pledge?"

"It's a commitment to your virginity."

"I don't think we can really un-ring that bell. You know what I mean?"

I give Dean a look and hit him on the arm, before turning to look at Bonnie.

"We're not exactly...virgins...anymore." I explain.

"Oh. I see. Well...if you just ask for God's forgiveness for your sins and make a new vow of chastity, well then, you'll be born again as a virgin in his eyes."

"So you just hit the 'virginity do-over' button, and all is good with the man upstairs?"

"It's not a button. And...this isn't just a piece of paper. I mean, this is your clean slate, your chance to be a virgin until marriage."

"Well, you had me at 'clean slate'. Let's do this." Dean says as he signs his name, as well as Sam I and I do with ours, handing them back to her after we're done.

"Congratulations, Sam, Dean and Brooke. You're all virgins."

"Ah."

In the meantime, Honor, who was taken from the parking lot has finally awoken and used her taser to see in the dark the best she could.

"Please. Stay away from me."

It was a few hours before we attended the group, and it was mostly women.

"Good afternoon everyone. I'm Suzy. I thought we'd begin with a silent prayer for our missing friends. Amen. Now, does anyone have anything that they would like to share?"

"I wrote a new piece of verse. It's called 'Sex is a racket, and God's ball is in your court'."

"And we would love to hear that, Tammy...later. Why don't we hear from our new friends? Sam, what brought you here to reclaim your virginity?"

"Well, I guess because every woman I've...ever...had relations with, uh...it...hasn't ended well."

"He ain't lying."

"Thank you for being here Sam. Stay strong, stay pure."

"Stay strong, stay pure."

"Brooke?"

"Well, I always said that I would wait until marriage, but under certain circumstances within the past couple years, that kind of changed. I felt like now was the time to stay true to that and wait until marriage."

"Stay strong, stay pure."

"And you , Dean? What set you on the path away from sin?"

"Uh, hard to say, exactly. Yeah. Sex has always felt...I don't know...good, you know? I mean, really really good. Uh...but, uh...sometimes it just makes you feel bad, you know? You're drunk. You shack up. Then it's the whole morning thing. You know, 'hey, that was fun'. And then, 'adios'. You know? Always the 'adios'. But you know, when you get down to it, what's the big deal, right? I mean sure there's the touching and the feeling all of each other. My hands everywhere, tracing every inch of her body. The two of us moving together, pressing and pulling...grinding. Then you hit that sweet spot, and everything just builds and builds and builds until it all just..." He says, imitating an explosion, and Sam clears his throat. "Yeah, uh...but the whole thing was just a little too uh...sticky. So uh, I got my 'V' card back. The end."

Looking around the room at all the other women, I could tell that they were feeling the same way I was after that description. Oh he's gonna get it later. After the group meeting was over, we disbanded and they cleaned up.

"So um, a wee bit of an over share Dean?" Sam asks.

"I was purifying."

"Purifying? Really?" I ask with a look.

"Yeah, letting it all out."

"You let it all out alright." I remark. "You have no idea how you made me feel in there." I say low, but loud enough for him to hear. "You know what I think we should do?" I ask before whispering in his ear.

While I do that, Bonnie comes up to Sam.

"Hey."

"So?"

"So?"

"How did you like the meeting?"

"Oh, I-I-I-I loved it. Yeah. Um, you know, I couldn't help but think of those who weren't here."

"Oh. Honor. She's my favorite. Would you excuse me?"

"Her favorite? She has no idea what kind of girl Honor is."

"You don't say? Uh, Tammy, right? The poet?"

"Mmhmm."

"Tammy, why...why don't you tell me what kind of girl Honor is?"

She then proceeds to tell Sam what kind of girl she is and then goes off complaining about her.

"And I bake real cookies for the bake sale. Honor just brings Oreros!"

"Oh. You know what? Excuse me." He says as we get his attention.

"We're gonna be waiting in the car okay? Don't be too long alright?"

"Why?"

I give him a look, and it takes him a bit to finally realize what we're talking about.

"You sure that's a wise thing with this whole chastity thing we signed up for?"

"No one's gonna find out Sam. And don't worry, we'll get a completely different motel room so you won't have to be somewhere else or be disturbed by it."

"Alright, just let me finish up here. I'll be out in a second. Hey. Sorry. So, where were we?"

"Honor is going to hell."

In the meantime, Jody was back at the hotel room that we all got, looking up records on the missing people. It isn't until a little while after that where Sam walks in after we had gotten back from the chastity meeting.

"Hey."

"How was church?"

"Well it turned into confessional. Apparently two of our vics, Honor and Pastor Fred, did the dirty."

"Well, they're not the only ones. Barb Blanton, our missing bride to be..."

"Yeah?"

"Her Mom said she heard Barb and her fiance in Barb's bedroom."

"Going at it?"

"Well, she said she heard sex noises, then Barb crying, then Neil telling Barb it didn't count because it was under 30 seconds. And then, two hours later, she heard a smash and saw a flash of light under the door."

"Blue light?"

"You know, I'm thinking whatever this thing is, it's not going after virgins, even born-again virgins."

"It's taking virgins who break their chastity vow. So dragons are off the list."

"I'm sor...dragons? Those are a thing?"

"Yeah. Too many things are things."

"We never should've signed that purity pledge. Neither one of us could deal with that." I say as we walk into the room we got for the night at least to ourselves.

"Especially with a girlfriend as hot as you." He agrees.

"But I know. It was the only way into the group to see what was going on."

"Exactly. And it's not like anyone's going to find out. Just our little secret."

"Exactly." I grin.

"This is Dean's other other cell, so you must know what to do."

"Dean, come on, call me."

"You know, for being born again today, you sure look like crap."

"Wait a second. Did you...get..."

"Born again?"

"Yeah."

"Sam, I don't make promises I can't keep. It's just...I enjoy church. I mean, after...after Bobby, Crowley...I needed something that maed sense to me. You know, comfort, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess we're all looking for that."

"Except those that got it. Come on. You and Dean? That's something special don't you think?"

"So, where were we exactly?" I ask with a grin.

"Oh I think about here." Dean says, before he pulls me close against him and presses his lips to mine.

Mid-kiss however, Dean's phone goes off, and he groans in frustration before pulling away.

"Hey. Dean? Hey, Dean...are you there? Hello? Dean? Dean?"

"Sammy! Hey."

"What's going on?"

"What do you think's going on? You interrupted a moment here."

"Yeah sorry, but I found something big. So get this...it's not a dragon."

"Uh huh..." Dean trails off as he's too busy being mesmerized by me.

"Dean?"

"Gotta go Sam." He says, hanging up, tossing his phone to the side.

I just smirk, because I had begun to shed my clothes so he did the same before joining me on the bed. His lips are back on mine and his hands are wandering like crazy, as are mine. Since we both had shed our clothes, we didn't have much to really take off later. He pulls from my lips and starts to kiss the exposed skin that I have, starting at my neck. When he hits the sweet spot there, I arch up into him. In the meantime, Honor is still looking to see where she is until she trips over something. She finds emergency supplies and pulls out a lantern, only to see another person laying there.

"Pastor Fred."

Just then he wakes up and she screams, turning around.

"Neil? Barb? What was that? What happened to him?"

"What do you think? He's starving to death. Just like we will if we don't get out of here."

"Why didn't you tell me who you were? I was so scared."

"We were scared."

Just then there's a noise and they hide. The blue light comes into the room and then just disappears, the door closing and locking them in yet again, and it took the pastor.

"Where'd he go?"

They hear him scream, clearly he's being killed. With Sam and Jody, they're still looking up what the blue light could be.

"What's up?"

"This thing is taking people that break their vows, right? Dean and Brooke...they've been in their hotel room over an hour."

"Right."

Dean and I have since gotten dressed since we did need to solve this case on the missing people. No matter how much longer we wanted to stay in that bed together, we did have a job to do.

"Wish we didn't have a job to do."

"I know, me too. But it makes us appreciate when we get moments like that."

"Oh definitely." I nod, before leaning up and kissing him again.

We then go to leave our room so we could go back to the other room that Sam and Jody are in, but once the door opens, the blue light knocks us back and we're knocked out. Sam and Jody see this too, and they rush over as fast as they can, only to see the light disappear and us gone. Back where the others are, Barb is scratching her nails along the brick wall, hurting herself actually.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm so thirsty. There has to be a way out!"

She's ruined her nails by scratching the brick wall to the point where her fingers were bleeding, and she licked them, eating the blood. Just then the door opens and Dean and I are dropped in, and we're locked inside. They come and investigate the noises and see that we're there.

"Dean..." I shake him, trying to wake him up and it works.

"Where are we?" He asks.

"Hell." Neil replies.

Sam and Jody however were looking around for any clues as to where we could be. There was no use in asking anyone around, because there barely was anyone around.

"You sure they were in here?" Jody asks.

"Pretty sure. The car is parked near here, and they were going to get a separate room just to themselves. After what happened at the meeting today, I knew what was gonna happen."

By this time, Dean tried to get us out of wherever we were. He was up by the door/hatch, and started to bang on it, trying to get it to open.

"We tried. There's no escape."

"Seems sealed pretty tight. Are we gonna run out of air?" I ask.

"I don't think so. Somebody wants us to die nice and slow."

"And then it's gonna take us, just like it took Pastor Fred."

"What took him?"

"We couldn't see, exactly. It...it was so bright. I..it was like it was on fire."

Jody and Sam have since returned to the motel room they were in and she was doing more research.

"Hey. Virgins...fire...sound familiar?"

"Vesta, Roman Goddess of the Hearth."

"Six virgins were dedicated to this chick every year. Their main duty was to tend Vesta's Hearth."

"Wait, so fire is connected to virginity?"

"Yeah, the girls had to be pure because fire is the symbol of purity."

"Huh. Okay, as long as Vesta's fire was kept lit, Rome received a good harvest."

"The virgins had to stay celibate for 30 years. If they broke their vows, they were buried alive."

"Son of a bitch." Dean grumbles as he can't get the hatch open.

"Way to end up right? We do...you know..and we get captured and thrown in a hole."

"Yeah, just our luck. Son of a-"

"What?"

"Took my phone. Luckily...I keep a spare. Come on, bars."

"Vesta was often enveloped in a blue halo of light, which she could control at will to disorient, to maim...ohhh...or to kill."

"Okay, what about some way to kill her? A-a weapon or...or something."

And then Sam's phone rings. Dean had gotten a bit of a signal, and was able to call him.

"Dean?"

"Sam! Sammy! Hey. Listen to me. We're..."

"Dean, wh..."

"...underground."

"Say it again. I can't hear you."

"We're...some kind of..."

"Dean! I lost him."

"What?"

"Listen, is there some kind of train station around here or something? I-I could've sworn I heard a whistle."

"Don't Neil. Please don't."

"Shh. Shh."

"Don't what Neil?" Dean asks.

"Just mind your beeswax pal."

"Yeah, why don't you shut the hell up?"

"Why don't you?"

"Hey. Hey! Listen, we're all stuck down here together. So, you got something to say, you say it."

"Okay look, whatever that fireball thing was, it's taking the weakest, and I'm not gonna be next. So the way I see it, her leg's busted anyway. We serve her up. It could buy us some time." Neil says about Honor.

"Screw you Neil."

"Busted leg? Try a sprained ankle okay? Nobody's serving anybody up!"

"We are under the gallows, all of us. Give it Honor. It might save the rest of our necks, unless you have a better plan.

"Maybe I do. Maybe we'll give him you. Oh, what, you don't like that idea? Then shut up."

"Here we go. 8:00 P.M. Train out of Sioux Falls. 79 miles an hour. What's five miles east of Hartford? Anything?"

"Uh...pasture mostly. No...the old Wimmer Farm."

"Wait, anything on a weapon?"

"Oak stained in virgin blood. Where are we gonna get a virgin?"

"I'm a virgin."

"I think we need the real McCoy here Sam."

They rush out the door and get into the car, heading to the church, hoping some of the people are still there. They get there and find Tammy the only one there, explaining to her what they need.

"You need what?"

"Your blood. Just a dab."

"But...Pagans use blood. Are you Pagans?"

"What? Pagan? No, look, it's for a weapon that..."

"You are in a house of God. Your psycho rituals aren't gonna fly here."

"Okay, we don't have time for this."

"I don't have time for devil worshippers. I'm calling the cops."

Jody then just punches her in the face to shut her up.

"I am the cops."

"What the fudge lady?!"

"Wipe your nose dear."

They get to the farm a little while later and start to look around.

"Jody." Sam says, telling her to split up from him to look around.

"You broke too huh?" Honor asks me as we're sitting there.

"Yeah. Recently born again, signed the pledge. Couldn't help myself."

Sam was above us and notices something odd, and starts banging on the hatch.

"What's that?" I ask.

"Told you. It's back for one of us. What are you gonna do now? Right, you should have listened to me..."

"Shh! Shut up."

"Jody!"

"Sam?"

"Dean!"

"We're here!"

"We're gonna get you out! Jody I found them!"

"Sammy? Sammy! Sammy!"

"Hey dean, we're here! We're gonna get you out!" Sam exclaims as he tries to pry the hatch open, but he's grabbed and pulled away from it.

"Sammy, are you still there?!"

"Sam!" Jody exclaims, only to be grabbed herself.

"Now, now. Shh." Bonnie says before her finger glows blue.

"Really? This is how a Goddess acts?"

"What?"

"I'm sort of new to this, but, you know, a Roman deity burying people alive in a barn? Sort of pathetic don't you think?"

"It only got pathetic when I started having to do it myself. Because of that hippie from Bethlehem...before him, they practically threw virgins at me. And now..."

"They let your fire go out. They forgot about you. Yeah, I know. Sucks to be Lindasy Lohan doesn't it?"

"Actually I figured if you can't beat them, join them. That's right. I adapted! Now I chew on the cud of prayer. Heck...I even got a sweater set."

"What is it Dean?" I ask as he finds something on the hatch.

"Screwdriver anybody?"

Honor then takes the first aid kit and finds a pair of scissors, hoping it'll work and hands them to him.

"Hey. From the first aid kit."

"They used to bed to stay pure for me. And now I have to drag them kicking and screaming. And they're not even real virgins. They're born again. You want to talk about pathetic?"

"Yeah. You're a real charity case."

"Oh no sweetheart. This isn't charity. I take what I deserve. When those trollops are about to die soaked in their juicy fear, I...eat...their...livers! Because that's the only part of them still working to purify the body that they'ves trashed. Now normally, I like them weaker, but let's just call this a hunter's exception, shall we?"

"Sure."

"This is how a Goddess acts!" Bonnie exclaims, taking the oak stake from Jody and goes to kill her, but Sam stops her, only for the oak to go into Jody's chest anyway.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on." Dean says, getting another screw undone.

Bonnie on the other hand touches Sam with her blue finger, but nothing happens.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What?"

"Your liver. It's...it's no good. Dear boy, you're all duct tape and safety pins inside. How are you alive?"

Before he could answer, Jody gets up and kills her. Dean has now gotten the hatch open, missing everything that happened of course.

"What did we miss?"

"Everything."

After Dean gets out, he helps me out, and then everyone else. We all give them a ride back to their homes, before going back to the motel. Well after getting Jody to the hospital, and her arm is put in a sling. The next day she ends up leaving.

"Ahh. I'd tell you three to stay out of trouble, but what's the point? Ow."

"Thanks for bailing us out."

"Oh, what can I say? I'm getting the hang of this."

"Drive safe."

"Thanks. Don't get the door for me or anything." She says before leaving and we go back to packing our things to go as well.

"What's up?" Dean asks as Sam sighs and sits on the bed.

"What if there is something wrong with me...something...really wrong?"

"You're just crapped out man. You need some rest."

"Oh, it's more than that. I mean, Vesta said I was practically dead inside."

"Oh, and she's in the circle of trust now?"

"Why would she lie?"

"It's probably the trials okay? Probably some sort of a, you know, aftereffect. It's not like you're bouncing back from the flu here. I mean you were glowing with freaking trial juice."

"I don't know."

"Well, what else would it be?"

"Why does it have to be something else? It's always something else. We're always scraping to find some other explanation when maybe it is...just me."

"Oh come on Sam."

"I'm a mess Dean, you know it. And sometimes I feel like maybe I'm never gonna actually be alright."

"You will. Alright, 'cause whatever it is, we'll figure it out."

"Or this is...just the way I am."

"I can't. I can't let you put this on yourself. Listen to me. It's not you Sam."

"I wouldn't do that Dean." Ezekiel comes through before Dean could continue.

"He deserves to know."

"Your brother is not ready. If he ejects me, he will not make it."

"Damn it Zeke! How much longer we got to keep playing this?"

"Not much longer. I promise you that."

"What?" Sam asks.

"What?"

"What...what's not me?"

"Nothing. I just...I-I meant that...if there is something wrong...it's not your fault. We'll deal with it. But you got to have a little faith Sammy."

Things just go quiet and Sam takes his things and goes out to the car, leaving Dean and I to finish packing.


	10. Holy Terror

**Caribou, Wyoming**

A bus of glee club girls are driving along this road and pull up to a biker bar, getting out and going inside.

"You shouldn't be here."

"We have just as much right to be here as you do, brother."

And then a fight breaks out, everyone turning out to be angels. All the men are killed and the women walk out and get back onto the bus.

"Alright girls, everybody." The driver says before they start to sing again.

With us however, it's nightfall and we're driving along the road. Dean was talking to Ezekiel about Sam, and I decided to take advantage of the time and get some rest.

"So, he's better?"

"Yes. Sam is much improved. It shouldn't be much longer now."

"Okay, you know you said the same thing to me last week, right?"

"As I told you when we met, this will take time."

"Okay, well go then. Heal. I'd like my brother back please."

"I must say Dean, I'm very uncomfortable with this whole trip. Investigating crimes involving angels or anything involving angels puts me, and therefore Sam at risk."

"Well family business, Zeke. Okay? If we ignore his, Sam's gonna think that something fishy's going on."

"Then I trust you will be discreet."

"Wait, if you know where we're going, that means you've been listening in. Are you...are you hearing everything between me and Sam? Or even us and Brooke for that matter?"

"No. Just a word here and there. I have better things to do with my time than eavesdrop, like heal your brother."

"Okay, 'cause here's the thing..."

"...I mean, I was gonna say it seems like it's getting really quiet out there, you know? Not a peep from the angels, even Buddy Boyle goes off the air and stops recruiting for them."

"Obviously a calm before the storm."

"Yeah, maybe."

"What?"

"That sign said 'Fort Collins, 50 miles'."

"So?"

"So, last time I looked, like 12 seconds ago, uh Fort Collins was 100 miles."

"Well, hey man, ever since that goddess got her hooks into you..."

"No it's more than Vesta. I mean, this kind of thing's been happening to me. Like, like there are chunks of time just missing. Like there are times when I'm...not here."

"Well, like I've said..."

"Yes, the trials. I know. I heard you. I heard you when you said it the last week and he week before that and the week before that."

"Yeah, because damn straight the trials. They whacked you man. You're not up to warp speed yet, okay? But you will be. Would I lie?"

When we did get into time, we had time to change and we made our way to the biker bar to check out what we knew was angel killings. We show our badges to the officer outside before going in.

"Uh, one of your guys is here already."

We head in and see the mess, finding some FBI agents, but then turn to find Cas.

"Ah my colleagues."

"Agent."

"Agent."

"Cas. What the hell are you doing?"

"Um, I still have that badge you gave me."

"Yeah. Uh, what the hell are you doing?"

"The murders were all over the news. Uh, I thought I might be of help."

"Yeah, but Cas, you know this is an angel situation right?"

"I think he's pretty aware of it Sam." I nod.

"Well yeah, but he left that night because angels were on his ass."

"Yeah, and you were living life, you know? Early retirement, working your way up the Gas-N-Sip ladder."

"Well if angels are slaughtering one another, I have to do what I can to help. This is a risk we should be willing to take, don't you think? Hey. Cas is back in town."

"Seriously, did you...did he just say that?"

"I think he did."

"These angels uh, they were butchered. Much more violence than was required."

"Definitely took more than one or two killers to pull this off."

"Hit squad? Bartholomew's people?"

"Well, Bartholomew has a faction we know about, but this could be somebody else entirely. We don't know."

"Well, whoever it is...we'll find them."

"We'll find them. That's great."

And just then, Sam changes to Ezekiel and he gives Dean a less than pleased look. Dean gives him his own look, and walks away, and I quickly join him. That night, a limo pulls up to this street, along with another one and two groups of people get out of them, clearly both angel groups.

"Good evening Malachi."

"Where is he?"

"Bartholomew is quite busy tonight. With such a large following, well, the responsibilities are enormous."

"I called for a top level summit. I don't deal with hand maidens."

"I'll convey your thoughts to Bartholomew."

"He'll regret the disrespect."

"You speak of disrespect Malachi? After the bloodbath two nights ago?"

"Bartholomew's naked grab for power was nothing but disrespect! He and I ultimately want the same thing. The only way we can take Heaven back from Matatron is to unite. And if Bartholomew wants to avoid all out warfare on Earth, he'll meet personally with me to negotiate terms."

"I'm sorry. I should've mentioned earlier, Bartholomew said to tell you he doesn't negotiate with street thugs. Are we done here?"

"Yes we are."

And then she along with the other two by her side are killed.

"And so it begins."

Meanwhile, Cas, Dean, Sam and myself went to a pool hall for drinks.

"It is so good being together again. You know, this is my first beer as a human. I hope it's okay, me joining you."

"Oh of course, I'm okay with it." I nod.

"Exactly. Why wouldn't it be okay?"

"You know Cas, are you sure you're ready to jump back into all this? I mean, it seemed to me like you'd actually found some peace."

"Hey, you once told me that you don't choose what you do. It chooses you. Huh? I'm a part of this. Like it or not."

"Alright, well then in that case, we have to fogure out, uh, who are we up against, what do they want, and how do we stop them."

"Well, Bartholomew wants to reverse Metatron's spell. Presumably to...to retake Heaven onceh is following is large enough. That's according to April."

"The reaper you banged."

"Yeah, and you stabbed."

"Yeah. She was hot."

"So hot. And very nice."

"Mm."

"Up to the point she started torturing me."

"Yeah. Well, not every hookup's perfect."

"Alright. I'm gonna get us another round." Sam offers.

"Nah. I'll get it." Cas offers instead.

"I'll come with." I say as I get up from the table as well and head to the bar with him, leaving Sam and Dean alone.

"One beer, he's hammered." Dean states, and once again Ezekiel comes through, still less than pleased.

"Oh boy."

"Well, what are you going to do about this?"

"About Cas?"

"He is a beacon, Dean. Pulling every angel for miles down on our heads."

"Alright, you know what Zeke? Level with me. What is it that you're so afraid of?"

"I told you. When I chose to answer your prayers and heal Sam, I chose sides. That means I'm not in good standing with certain angels."

"Okay, well you know what? Cas isn't in good standing with any angel, alright? But here he is, ass on the line, fighting the fight. So tell me, what makes you so special?"

"Here we go." Cas states as we come back. "Four brewskies."

"I'm going to get something out of the car." Ezekiel says as he leaves, going outside, and who shows up, but Metatron.

"Well, I'm really looking forward to this."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, please. I know who you really are. And it isn't Ezekiel."

Since he left, it was only myself, Dean and Cas at the table and we had nothing to talk about, so we were all quiet.

"I um, noticed you look...kind of uncomfortable whenever Sam mentions my leaving. Doesn't he know that you told me to leave?"

"About that..." I trail off.

"Here's the deal. When Sam was doing the trials to seal up Hell, it messed him up. Okay? The third one nearly killed him. If we'd let him finish, it would have. He's still messed up bad."

"You said the angel Ezekiel helped heal him."

"Look, I got to do anything I can to get him back. Now, if that means that we keep our distance from you for a little while, then...then I don't have a choice. I don't feel good about it, but I don't have a choice. It's great to have your help Cas. Okay, but we just can't work together."

"Unfortunately." I frown.

"Relax. I'm not here to out you. But I am curious, why Ezekiel?" Metatron tells the angel possessing Sam.

"They say he is a good and honorable angel."

"Ahh. Everything they say you are not. I see your point...Gadreel."

"The stories about me, they are not true."

"And yet you spent countless thousands of years locked in Heaven's darkest dungeon, and now you're hiding in this human posing as Ezekiel. Tragic. It broke his heart to lock you away, you know? You were God's most trusted. That's why he chose you to protect the garden. Your one task was to keep evil from entering...from befouling his cherished creation, mankind, and you failed him."

"Not my doing."

"Well, for whatever reason, the serpent entered. The Earth is cursed with evil. Someone had to be blamed."

"What is it you want of me, Metatron?"

"Just to be your friend. You and I go back a long way. I was actually the one who freed you."

"You?"

"I was the one who caused all the angels to fall. Including the imprisoned ones. You're welcome."

"No angels are in Heaven. None at all."

"No, an you know, at first I thought I would love it. But it's a big place. My solitude is getting tedious."

"And so?"

"And so...plan 'B'. Rebuild Heaven as the place God envisioned it, only with a handpicked few. No more anemic functionaries like Bartholomew. And no more stupid angels. Maybe some funny ones. You were his most trusted, Gadreel. You want to take back your reputation, you want to reclaim the Heaven that was? We could do this together."

Metatron had since left after that, Sam/Ezekiel/Gadreel came back in and we spend some more time in the bar before deciding to head back to the bunker, but of course without Cas. We all have since changed and Sam and I were doing research on the biker gang killed.

"Any word from Cas?"

"Nothing yet."

"And we're not worried about him, that he just took off like that again? I mean, it's not like he does this kind of stuff alone."

"It's the way he wanted it. Honestly. Look man, he's been all over the map since he goth is wings clipped. What do you got? Obituaries. That one of the bikers?"

"Yeah. His name was Red Dawg."

"Of course it was."

"It's not what you think. He's a family guy. Big in the PTA, he played Santa at Christmas parties. "

"So, what? Just one day, he up and joined a biker gang?"

"No, he did that years ago. Get this. This is weird. Look. These are all the victims right?"

"Yeah." I nod.

"They were all baptized together."

"Baptized?"

"Yeah. They were a born-again biker gang."

"Well, that is not something you hear every day."

"No kidding."

"No it's not."

"Wait, make that bigger. Boyle's Boys? Boyle as in Reverend Buddy Boyle?"

"Wait, what?"

That's when Sam goes back to the obituary to read about Red Dawg. "Listen to this. Red Dawg's widow said he was always religious, but a week before he died, he came home from a prayer meeting and was a changed man filled with divine glory."

"So Boyle's at it again. Selling folks on being meat suits for angels."

"Just what...talking to smaller groups now?"

"I don't know. Maybe softening up thousands at a time, he wasn't able to control what angels got let in. This way, Bartholomew's followers can jump in just as soon as Boyle does his thing."

"So Red Dawg and his guys were Bartholomew people?"

"Sounds about right."

"Yeah, and they got slaughtered. Which means that this new group is even worse. Haven't I always said that angels are dicks?"

In the meantime, in the middle of the forest, one of the women from the glee club that killed the biker angels was rounding up more vessels for the angels, around a fire.

"And I so appreciate the opportunity to address your bible-study group. I admire your passion, your energy, your devotion. You are exactly what God and his angels have in mind for the crusade. Now rise. Join hands, all of you. Feel the heavenly host reach out to embrace you. Embrace them back. The angels want nothing more than to feel your love. Welcome into your hearts. Let them in! In the name of Malachi, let them in!"

And just then before much could happen, she's stabbed and killed and so is everyone in the group, the angels expelled from their bodies.

The next day, Sam had went out. Well actually Gadreel had went out so he could meet up with Metatron, leaving Kevin, myself and Dean at the bunker to keep on our research.

"Frankly, I never got used to them. I lived among them for centuries. I had to isolate myself to keep sane."

"Humans do seem chaotic, Metatron."

"Which makes them fascinating, but...all that emotion. Geez. And the wasted energy. It's just...exhausting."

"I know. Sam Winchester. It is a mess in here. And the brother, and his girlfriend, I do not know where to start."

"I can free you from them. From all of them."

"You intend to be the ruler of this new Heaven, am I correct?"

"Uh...it is a burden I feel I must accept."

"Then Metatron, does that not make you God?"

"Oh. Semantics. I don't know that I'd take on that name...necessarily. No. When the time comes, we'll call me...X."

"X?"

"You and I...we could have paradise again, Gadreel."

"Okay. I'm...unfamiliar with this end of the process." Cas says from a motel room he got and kneels down next to the bed.

"'Course, no one may be listening, um, but I...I do need assistance. I have questions, and there seem to be no answers. I...I wouldn't presume to ask for help if I weren't desperate, but I need help. I'm lost. I need your guidance. Please hear my prayer."

And by this time, he's done and it's nightfall.

"I don't know how humans do it."

He goes over and tries to turn the TV on, but it's not working.

"Try plugging it in." A woman says from outside the door, and that causes Cas to go and open it to see the woman.

"Surely that wasn't the answer you were seeking."

"You're an angel."

"Muriel. I didn't pick the outfit. Castiel?"

"No, wait. Please, just hear me out."

"It can't be known that I even spoke to you."

"I just need a moment."

"No."

"Please. I just need information."

"Dean, there may be nothing in here. Crowley said the spell that cast down the angels was irreversible." Kevin says as we're all still researching as Sam is out.

"Yeah, well screw Crowley. Why would you think that anything he says is true?"

"This part is nearly indecipherable. Almost like when Metatron wrote it down, he wanted to keep the words hidden, even from prophets."

"Hey." Sam says as he walks back in.

"Hey. Check this out. Another angel attack."

"What? Where?"

"Utah. A uh...college bible-study group and their uh, guest speaker...some top-shelf church lady. Insides scorched out, kids' eyes were missing, but not the church lady's."

"So, she was an angel too?"

"Sounds like. Uh, and she sang soprano for the uh, Melody Ministry Glee Club."

"Okay."

"The club goes to its gigs on a bus, so when I checked with the Wyoming cops, they said that a witness saw the same bus leaving the biker bar not long before the bodies were found."

"So church-lady angel was at both killings?"

"Seems like it." I nod.

"I'm guessing that she and whoever she's running with killed Bartholomew's bikers at the bar and then Bart's boys hit her back."

"When she was recruiting those students to be vessels."

"Bingo."

"Wow. A bunch of kids."

"Kevin. Clock's ticking."

"Let's say you're telling the truth and Metatron tricked you. I should still turn you in."

"But you won't."

"Don't be so sure."

"I...I think you instinctively trust me. Were similar. We both want no part of the fanatics."

"And when you prayed, how did you know you wouldn't get one of them?"

"I'm warded and my grace is gone and I was hoping that I would seem like just another desperate human that the...the militants couldn't care less about."

"And you think I care?"

"You're here. You may know the situation. Bartholomew, he's in a blood feud with another faction."

"It's madness."

"Who leads the opposition?"

"Malachi."

"Malachi? The anarchist."

"He's become equals with Bartholomew. In some ways, worse."

"But there's still those like you who want to stay out of it."

"Fewer and fewer. Each side is rounding up those who try and stay neutral. Angels are being tortured and killed if they don't pledge loyalty."

"It's worse than I thought."

"Each side wants to crush the other, overthrow Metatron, and rule Heaven, and...Heaven under either of them would be..."

"Hell."

Just then the door is kicked in and of course it's an angel who finds them there. They are both taken of course and brought to this place for torture.

"This is a bonus, Castiel. We were tracking Muriel, cowardly holdout that she is, and wonder of wonders, she led us to you."

"Not knowingly." She corrects them.

"I stand corrected. Not knowingly. Stupidly."

"I've explained in detail. I don't know how Metatron's spell worked. Therefore, I can't assist in reversing it. I was an unwitting accomplice."

"Oh. A dupe. The great Castiel. Valued and trusted Castiel. Top-of-the-Christmas-tree Castiel, no more than a dupe. Dupe or mastermind, you were inside the circle. You know where Metatron's weakness lies."

"No. I don't."

"Theo."

"No." Cas says before he's cut with the angel blade.

"You'd suffer, even die for your beliefs. I get it. But is Metatron, whose poll numbers have totally tanked...worth your life? More importantly, is Metatron worth her life?"

"No. No, she's innocent. You leave her alone."

"I have no intentions on touching her."

Theo however does and he goes over to her.

"Virtue is its own punishment."

"Please no. No!" Cas exclaims as she is then killed by Theo. "Angels butchering angels. Is this what we've become?"

"Just following your example, Castiel. How many did you kill in Heaven? How many in the fall? Oh, you didn't know? A host of angels died when they fell...Azrael, Sophia, Ezekiel. 'Died' doesn't even describe it. Devastation. Wings shredded, unspeakable agony at your hands. So I think you would want to provide any information that you have, considering...alright. I leave you in the hands of an artist. I don't care what's left." He says before walking out.

"Don't ask for mercy. There is none. I'll give you one last chance for this to end."

"Give me a quick death."

"I need you to speak to Metatron. Everyone knows you have influence. He'll listen to you. Ask him to raise me to Heaven. You can do this, Castiel. I'll be a soldier for Metatron, do anything he wants."

"You...you serve Malachi."

"I thought he was the answer, but he's crazy."

"You're...noticing this now? You were more than willing to do his dirty work."

"I did what I had to."

"When you were sure he would defeat Bartholomew."

"But no one will survive this war."

"So, you prefer to sit it out in Heaven."

"I can talk to him about restoring your grace."

"Well, it's um, it's true. Metatron and I do have a working relationship."

"I knew it."

"You're clever Theo."

"You're allies."

"And he could use a skilled soldier like yourself. Oh, but I don't know."

"I-I'm a team player Castiel."

"Alright. Well?" He says, motioning to the shackles, and Theo unlocks them to free him. "I'll...I'll need a moment to make contact. And you have something that I'll need."

"Anything."

Cas then quickly grabs the angel blade and slits Theo's throat, exposing his grace, and absorbs it, getting his back and he becomes an angel again and then kills Theo. The guy then comes back down to see all the men killed.

"No. Oh no."

"Hey. You seen Sam?" Dean asks Kevin when he comes across him in the kitchen.

"He went out."

"Where?"

"I don't know. You notice he's doing that a lot?"

"Yeah." Dean says before answering his phone. "Yeah."

"Dean, I don't have a lot of time, so listen. The leader of the opposition is an angel named Malachi."

"How do you know that?"

"He had me. I uh, I was tortured. But I got away."

"How?"

"I...I did what I had to. I became what they've become. A barbarian."

"What are you...Cas, where are you?"

"It's better I stay away. They're gonna want me even more now. But I'm gonna be alright. I...I got my grace back. Well, not mine per se, but it'll do."

"Wait, you're...you're back? You got your mojo?"

"I'm not sure. But I am an angel."

"And you're okay with that?"

"If we're going to war, I need to be ready."

"Cas."

"Dean. There's more."

"What?"

"Didn't you say Sam was healed by an angel named Ezekiel?"

"Uh...yeah, why?"

"Ezekiel is dead."

"What?"

At this point, I come into the kitchen since Kevin told me where he was.

"He died when the angels fell."

"Dean? What's wrong?"

"Ezekiel isn't Ezekiel."

"What? What do you mean?"

"It's a long story."

"Tell me."

"Long story short, Cas has his mojo back."

"He's an angel again?"

"Yeah, and apparently Ezekiel, the one who's supposedly helping Sam right now, died when the angels fell."

"So that means..."

"There's a rogue angel in my brother and he could be in trouble, unless we get that angel out." He says before he hurries out of the kitchen to find Kevin, and I follow close behind.

"I need a spell, ASAP."

"Everyone always needs a spell, and it's always ASAP."

"Alright listen to me. An angel can't be expelled by another human. Only by the host right? Well, what if there was a way to power down the angel so that it wasn't in charge for a few seconds?"

"What?"

"For instance. If...if hypothetically, I wanted to speak with the vessel but not have the squatter listen in."

"Why?"

"Why? Kevin, we've got tons of possessed humans out there. You with me? And when the angels kill each other off, the humans are taking it in the teeth, so what if I wanted to clue the human in so that he or she could spit the angel out? That would be a good thing, right?"

"Uh...yeah."

"Okay. So, hit the tablet. Let's go."

"Now?"

"Yesterday, Cinderella."

"I've been thinking this over, Metatron. I will join you as second in command."

"Bravo, Gadreel. This move will erase the mark that has hounded you through the centuries. Heaven will be restored, as will your reputation as one of its greatest heroes."

"I thank you for this opportunity."

"There is just one more thing."

"Yes."

"I need to be sure of your fidelity."

"You have it."

"No, I mean really sure. We have enemies who pose an imminent threat to our effort. They must be neutralized."

"Slain?"

"In a word."

"That...that is not who I am."

"Yeah." Metatron says, taking out a slip of paper and handing it to him. "Here's the first name on your to-do list. Decide."

In the meantime, the three of us have just gotten done painting sigils in the storeroom for the spell to get the angel out of Sam.

"Alright, so this masterpiece we just painted, it's gonna work right?"

"The sigils are supposed to briefly hobble the possessing angel. If the info's correct."

"Wait, what?"

"What do you mean if the info's correct?" I question.

"I only had time to get a little from the tablet. The rest came from an old Men of Letters book. As soon as your blood touches the ignition sigil, the spell kicks in. Dean, what's going on?"

"I told you."

"You told me theoretically. Dean, we just painted sigils in the storeroom. What the hell?"

"You're gonna have to trust me. Okay, trust that I told you everything that I can, well that we can for now. Can you do that?"

"I always trust you. And I always end up screwed."

"Oh, come on. Always? Not always."

"Actually..." I trail off.

Dean walks away and ends up in the kitchen to see Sam restocking the shelves of the kitchen with food and supplies.

"Hey, where you been?"

"Hey. Beer run."

"Long beer run. Can we talk?"

"Yeah. Uh...sure."

He does end up bringing him to the storeroom where the sigils were painted.

"This sounds serious."

While Sam's back is turned, Dean cuts his hand and puts it to the sigil on the door, igniting the spell.

"What's going on? What are you doing?"

"I got to tell you some stuff fast. It's gonna piss you off."

"Okay."

"Those trials really messed you up."

"Yes, I know that."

"No, you don't. I mean messed you up like almost dead. No more birthdays, dust to dust. Well that messed me up, so I made a move okay. A tough move about you without talking it over because you were in a coma."

"Wait, what? When?"

"You were in the hospital, okay, and they said you were gonna die."

"Dean. What did you do?"

"I let an angel in."

"In what?"

"In you. He said he could heal you and he is."

"He's still in me? Wait. That's impossible Dean. That couldn't happen. I never invited him in."

"I tricked you into saying yes. It seemed like the only way."

"So...again. You thought I couldn't handle something, so you took over."

"No, I did what I had to do! You would've never agreed to it, and you would've died."

"Well, maybe I would've liked the choice at least."

"We can do this later. You can...you can kick my ass all you want. Right now, we got bigger problems."

"Bigger?"

"The angel lied to me. Okay? He...he's not who he said he was. He said his name was Ezekiel. Cool guy, according to Cas, but it's not Ezekiel."

"Who is he?"

"I don't know. Apparently Ezekiel is dead. Whoever this guy is can end you in a heartbeat if he wants to, so you have got to dump him. Are you hearing what I'm saying? I think you're well enough now, but you got to expel him. Sam."

Sam doesn't say a thing and then just goes to walk out of the storeroom.

"Sam...hey."

He just turns around and he clocks Dean in the face, knocking him out for a bit. That's when Sam comes out to where Kevin and I were.

"Hey Sam. Hey, do you notice anything a little bit off about Dean lately? Between you and me, I'm a little bit worried about him."

"Don't worry about Dean. Dean will be fine."

"Kevin...wait...that's not Sam." I say as I hear the tone in his voice and start to back away.

Before I could act on anything, the angel inside Sam, possessing him put his hand to Kevin's head and burned his eyes out, killing him.

"Kevin!"

"No! No! No! Kevin?!" Dean exclaims as he comes running into the room, but gets pushed into one of the pillars by the angel possessing Sam.

"Sam?"

"There is no more Sam. But I played him convincingly, I thought."

"How did you..."

"I heard you talk with Kevin Tran tonight." He says as he grabs the tablet, putting it into a bag. "Alter a sigil...even the slightest...alter the spell. Sorry about Kevin, but ultimately...it's for the best. I did what I had to."

With that he leaves and Dean's let go. I make sure he isn't coming back before I quickly move over to Dean.

"Kevin? Kevin?"

"He's gone Dean." I frown, before putting an arm around him and just pulling him into me, where I feel a wet feeling on my shoulder so I know he's crying.

I lean my head against his, not able to keep my own tears from falling myself.


	11. Road Trip

It was a long night for Dean and myself. With Sam gone, taken over by an Angel, and now Kevin gone as the angel had killed him, it was actually hard on Dean. Just like any good hunter would be, we had burned the body that night. When we got back, Kevin's stuff was still on the table and Dean just lashed out after it really hit him. But in the meantime, there was this concert going on.

"You're on in 10. Label wants you to open with 'Baby, Be My Baby'. Then you can roll right on into 'Babycakes,' and then the clean version of 'Babymaker'. Oh, and Corey? Let's try to take it easy with the groupies tonight, huh?"

"Yeah whatever." He remarks and opens the door to his dressing room to find Gadreel there.

"The hell...security!"

"It's fine, Margey. You can go."

"What? Corey..."

"Bitch, did I stutter?!" He says, closing the door. "Hello, Gadreel."

"Thaddeus. That's a new look, I must say."

"Well, what can I say, you know? We all got booted out of the penthouse, and I just kind of figured...why be an angel when you can be a god? How are you old friend?"

"I am not your friend."

"Well, I think you're being a little bit mean there, considering all the quality time we spent together."

"I was imprisoned, and you tortured me."

"Heaven has rules. Do the crime, do the time. That's it."

"I made a mistake."

"I was a guard. I was doing my job."

"What you did to Abner, was that your job?"

"Your boyfriend? Now, that, mnh...that was just fun. Is that what you're here for? The big payback? Fine. If you want to get a little bloody, uh, I have no problem kicking your ass...again. You know, w...we'll say for old time's sa..." He trails off as he opens the guitar case, clearly looking for the angel blade, finding it empty.

"Looking for this?" Gadreel asks, holding the blade in clear view.

"Gadreel...I'm sorry." He says, only for Gadreel to stab and kill him.

However, Dean and I were loading up our bags with everything we would need. As we were, Cas showed up.

"Dean. Brooke."

"Cas."

"Hey Cas."

"Now, look at you, all suited up and back in the game."

"I, um...I came as son as you called. I wa..." Cas trails off and sees the mess made by Dean. "Dean, what happened? What's wrong?"

That causes us both to stop what we were doing, and go silent.

"Sit, we'll tell you everything." I motion to a chair.

"Sammy was dying. What was I supposed to do?" Dean says after we explained everything.

"You let an angel possess him?"

"Hey, I thought he was who he said he was too. He had us all fooled." I remark.

"He said it was the only way, and I believed him. We both believed him. Now Sam's gone. Kevin's..."

"Dean, Brooke, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well...sorry don't pay the bills does it? It sure as hell ain't gonna bring Kevin back. We got to find that son of a bitch."

"No kidding."

"Dean. If the angel possessing Sam isn't Ezekiel, then who is it?"

"That's the thing..." I trail off.

"...a dead man walking."

"What, you're gonna destroy him?"

"Damn right."

"You kill an angel, its vessel dies too."

"Think I don't know that? If I don't end Sam and that halo burns him out and I...god, I was so damn stupid."

"Dean you weren't stupid. He had us both fooled." I try to reassure him.

"You were stupid...for the right reasons." Cas adds.

"Yeah, like that matters."

"It does. Sometimes that's all that matters. Listen to me. Sam is strong. If he knew an angel was possessing him, he could fight. He could cast the angel out."

"Maybe. But as far as I know, he's in the dark. I don't know how we clue him in."

"Do you remember Alfie?"

"That kid angel? Yeah. Why?"

"Before he died, he told me the demons were able to dig into his mind, access his coding. We might be able to do that here. Might be able to...to bypass the angel and talk directly to Sam."

"And you think that would work?"

"I don't know, but I think we should try."

"Okay. Um, where do we start?"

"Well, what demon do we have locked up in the dungeon?" I ask.

"Crowley." He states and that's where we head to.

"Hello boys. Brooke."

"Here's the deal...you're gonna tell us how to hack an angel, and I'm gonna give you some of the good stuff." Dean says as he has a syringe of his blood. "Human blood, fresh from the tap. Word is you're jonesing for it."

"Please. I'll pass."

"What do you want then?" Cas asks.

"He wants to be freed." I say after some thought. "Isn't that right."

"Exactly. But for starters, a massage. Between the sitting and the shackles, a body gets a little stiff."

"Yeah, I ain't rubbing you."

"God, no. Get Kevin. His tiny fists can really work wonder..."

"Kevin is dead."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Are you really?" I ask.

"Don't pretend you care. You tried to kill him."

"I told him this was gonna happen. I was the only person who tried to warn him. I told him to run."

"From what?"

"You. How many times am I gonna have to say this? People in your general vicinity don't have much in the way of a life-span. Now, I can't teach you how to crack open an angel. It's more...art than science. But I can do it for you. All I ask in return is a little field trip. Dying for some fresh air. Chains on, naturally."

"No."

"Dean...come on."

"No? Of course not. Because if I'm plan 'A,' I'm sure you have a totally viable, much better plan 'B'.

"You can't be considering this."

"With the chains on, he can't do anything."

"It's Crowley. He can always do something."

"Looks like we need a tiebreaker. You, go get Moose." He says to me, and that's when we all fall silent.

"Unless...unless of course you can't. That's why you're here, isn't it? The poor giant baby's in trouble again, isn't he?"

"Are you done?"

"Depends. Do we have a deal?"

"Yeah."

"Excellent. When do we leave?"

"Soon as I can scrounge up a ride."

"Well, I have a vehicle." Cas states.

"You do?" I question.

"It stopped a few miles from here, inexplicably."

"Well maybe it's just out of gas. I mean cars do run on gas you know."

"Only one way to find out. Let's go. You get our things Brooke, I'll get Crowley out of here."

I nod and do so, and he does so as well. We then make the walk up the road, miles away where the car stopped.

"Really? What are you, a pimp?" Crowley questions Cas.

"I like it."

After I had handed Dean's bag to him, he tosses it in the front seat and takes out the keys for the car that Cas gave him, the engine sputters. "Yeah, it's out of gas."

"Riddle me this, boy wonder. Why do you need the wheels?"

"When you betray us, I'll be the one to carve out your heart."

"Oh Cas, such a flirt."

"Alright, let's go."

"Shotgun." Crowley calls out.

"Uh, wrong. You're in the back."

Cas grins and goes to open the passenger side door.

"Hey..you too. Keep an eye on him. Rather not have Brooke sitting in the back with him." Dean says before getting in the driver's side.

I just grin and get in the passenger side door, after Cas and Crowley get into the back.

"Hey."

"Watch the leg."

"You're on my side."

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

"Don't act like a bunch of bickering children." I give them a look, before Dean starts the car and we bounce around a bit from the hydraulics.

In the meantime, Metatron was at a bar by himself, but clearly waiting for Gadreel.

"Get you anything else?"

"I'm good, thanks."

The door opens and Gadreel walks in, sitting next to him.

"Welcome home, sweethearts." Metatron says as he opens the bag to find the tablets. "Strange seeing an old vessel, isn't it? Like looking in a fun house mirror. But first things first...the tasks I gave you, any hiccups?"

"Killing Thaddeus was easy. He had it coming."

"I know all about your history. Why do you think I gave you his name? Consider it your signing bonus. And the kid?"

"That was...less easy."

"He was a threat, but I flipped a switch upstairs, and now that Kevin is gone, there will be no more prophets. And what about Dean Winchester and that woman of his, Brooke?"

"You never gave me their names Metatron."

"Not much for seizing the initiative, are we? Gadreel, we are writing our own epic story here. To make that work, sometimes you have to kill your darlings. It's not like you haven't done worse before. Sorry. Sorry. Onto new business. Your next target."

"How many more lives do I have to take?"

"It's not your place to ask questions. It is your place to obey. You want to be my second in command? Prove you're ready. Prove you're loyal. Or don't. Walk away. Go back to being Gadreel the traitor, the sap, heaven's longest-running joke."

However where we had just gotten the car, the woman who was outside with her dog at the time which we paid no mind to, she had killed the dog and filled it's bowl with it's blood, clearly she was possessed by a demon.

"Inferni clamavi ad te regem. Abaddon? I found him. Crowley is on the move."

The following day, Crowley tracked down someone that could help us hopefully and we ask to see her.

"Your source is in here?" Dean asks as we're in an office building, sitting and waiting.

"And she can track anything you need, even our little lost Samantha."

"How?"

"Yeah, how Crowley?"

"Well, this place isn't really...this. It's a front for an N.S.A. listening post."

"What are they listening for?"

"Everything. The U.S. government is quite the voyeur these days. So I planted one of my best and let her go to work."

"Looking for terrorists?"

"Looking for marks, slow boat."

"Mr. Crowley? She'll see you now."

He nods and we all get up to go with him.

"Uh, just Mr. Crowley."

"I'll be listening to every word you say."

"Promise?"

He then heads up to her office with the security guard, sitting down in the chair across from her when he enters her office.

"Cecily. How are you?"

"Better than you. That was Dean Winchester, Brooke, and...Castiel?"

"Yes, I know. Without the tie, he's barely recognizable. It's so..."

"...hot. I mean, human Castiel? Eh. But feathered Castiel?"

"Human Castiel?"

"You heard what happened to him right?"

"I've been tied up. Pray, do tell."

"Hear anything?" Dean asks Cas as we've been sitting for a while.

"No. The room Crowley's in has been warded."

"Great." I sigh.

"Awesome. that's friggin' awesome."

"So Captain Sexy out there totally cuts another angel's throat, yoinks and grace, and now? He's got his mojo back...minus the broken wings."

"Well, that explains the hooptie. And we know all this how?"

"I tuned one of our satellites to pick up angel radio."

"Impressive."

"Yeah. Not just a pretty face."

"What about Hell?"

"No one's doing their job. I send oodles of data down there every week, but does Hell give a damn? No."

"Well of course with Abaddon in charge, you...?"

"Oh, that 'B' with an 'itch' ain't the boss. I mean, she's got a few of the more aggro types on her side. But most are just waiting to see who takes the belt...you or her."

"They're still afraid of me."

"Probably 'cause they don't know you're in cuffs."

"Speaking of which...do they come off?"

"Not without the key."

"Fine." He sighs. "I need you to do me a favor. Can you find this car for me?"

"Easy-peasy."

"Nice to know someone's still loyal."

"Uh huh."

"That is, of course, if you're not playing both sides?"

"Wouldn't you?"

After she finds where the Impala is, she prints out where it was it was seen and hands it to Crowley, sending him on his way. Cas, Dean and myself stand when he comes back down the stairs.

"Your phallus on wheels just ran a red light in Somerset, Pennsylvania 10 minutes ago. Let's go. The three amigos ride again."

"He's not my amigo." Cas remarks.

"And he's forgetting me." I add, as we all follow him out.

**Somerset, Pennsylvania**

Gadreel had stopped in this residential neighborhood, obviously on his next task to eliminate another angel. He approaches a man gardening.

"Alexander Sarver?"

"Yeah? Gadreel?"

"Abner?"

"I thought you were dead. W-what happened? W-what are you doing here?"

"I-what are you doing here?"

"Daddy! Daddy!"

"Hey. Delilah, this is Daddy's best friend. Can you say hi?"

"Hi."

"You have a child?"

"I have family, Gadreel. Look, my wife and the niblet are going to a movie. Swing back in a few hours so we can catch up okay?"

"Okay. Sure."

He comes back later that night when they get back to have a talk with him.

"So, um, you have a job?"

"Customer support...computers mostly. It's like answering prayers, but they pay you for it."

"You have changed Abner."

"Yeah well, I was a crappy angel. I was petulant. I deserted my post. I spent 700 years in heaven's lockup. I...no. Doesn't matter. We're a long way from Thaddeus now."

"I killed him Abner. I got our revenge."

"I w-I wish you hadn't done that."

"But why? He tortured us...you most of all."

"I remember. And I remember you were always there to put me back together."

"We were friends."

"We are friends. And the fall, it's our second chance. We can forget our old hates, who we were."

"It's not that easy."

"Yes it is. Look at me. I'm happy."

"And your vessel...is he happy?"

"He was an abusive ass. But I love my family, and they love me. I'm not a wise mane, Gadreel. But I know this. The key to happiness? It's getting the one thing you want most and never letting it go."

"What if there's a price?"

"There's always a price. But it's worth paying."

In the meantime, we've caught up with Gadreel, finding the car parked out in front of a house.

"There it is. Now where's that angel?" I ask.

"Inside the house he parked out front of?"

"Only one way to find out." Dean says and we head towards the door, him and I head in first quietly. "Stay close." He says to me.

That's when we see spots of blood and a man dead, then hear water running, heading into the kitchen.

"You two should not have come here."

"You kill my friend, then you take my brother, and you think I'm gonna let that stand?"

"I allowed you to live. Both of you."

Dean then takes out the angel blade, and I take mine out as well.

"Mistake." He states before going after him, only to be thrown into the bookcase.

That's when he starts to approach me, but I stand my ground.

"You think you scare me? Whoever you are? Well you don't." I say as I glance behind him and see Cas.

"Is that so? You do know I can kill you just like that."

"Yeah well, that's a chance I'm willing to take. Of course, maybe not right now. You may want to look behind you." I smirk.

He does, only to get knocked out by Cas.

"Good job Cas. Dean...Dean. Wake up. We got him. Got to get him back to the car."

"So Crowley was here?" Abaddon asks Cecily as she's been in her office to get the information.

"Yeah. Um, I thought you'd want to know."

"You thought right. And now? Any idea where he scampered off to?"

"Somerset, Pennsylvania. With Dean Winchester, Brooke and the angel Castiel."

"And you know this how?"

"They're chasing an Impala. I helped them track it."

"You helped Crowley?"

"Yeah. I'm kind of playing both sides until someone w...until you win." She chuckles nervously.

"Hm."

"Smart, right?" She asks, but gets back up against the wall.

"No." Abaddon says before killing her. "Sort of the opposite."

With us, we're at and abandoned building and had Gadreel tied up, sitting across from Crowley, finally waking up.

"Oh look who woke up." I remark.

"Welcome to the party pal. Cas, how we lookin'?"

"Most of Sam's internal burns have healed. I should be able to fix the rest. What's your name? I thought I knew every angel in heaven, but I've never seen you."

"Why would I tell you anything?"

"Well, I don't give a damn who you are. You need to get out...now!"

"And if I don't?"

"Then you and I will have a lovely little playdate." Crowley replies.

"Even bound, I can rip this body apart. Tell them Castiel."

"You do, you die."

"You want this to end? Go ahead. Put a blade through your brother's heart. If it makes you feel better, I have Sam locked away in a dream. As far as he knows, the three of you are working a case right now...something with ghouls and cheerleaders."

"Why are you doing this, huh? We fought together. And I trusted you. I thought you were one of the good guys!"

"I am doing what I have to do."

"Well, so am I."

Crowley then stands and picks up a pin of some sort and inserts it into the side of Sam's head, making Gadreel scream. That goes on for some time as Crowley keeps at it, the screaming continuing. It gets to be too much for him and Dean walks off.

"Dean?"

"I'll go, you stay here." Cas says as he walks off in Dean's direction and I nod.

"Hey."

"I can't watch that anymore."

"I understand. It's not Sam, but...it's still Sam."

"Pretty much, yeah. How are you doing?"

"You want to talk about me now?"

"I want to talk about anything that's not a demon sticking needles into my brother's brain. Yeah, humor me man. How you doing?"

"Uh...I'm okay."

"Good. Good. That's uh...so what, you just change the batteries out, power back up? It's that easy?"

"It wasn't easy, but I didn't have a choice."

"Yeah. Well, that's usually how it goes. Cas...I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"Kicking you out of the bunker. That's uh...you know, not telling you about Sam."

"You thought his life was at stake."

"Yeah, I got played. Brooke and I both got played."

"I thought I was saving heaven. I got played too."

"So you're saying we're just a few dumbasses?"

"I prefer the word 'trusting'. Less dumb. Less ass."

"Laverne! Shirley! Get in here!" Crowley calls to them. "Pinhead's out cold, but watch this." He adds as he twists the needle.

"Zir noco iad Gadreel. Zir noco iad Gadreel."

"What's he saying?"

"His name. Gadreel."

"Does that mean something to you?"

"Well, it's why I've never seen him. He's been imprisoned since the dawn of time. Gadreel was the sentry who allowed Lucifer into the garden."

"My, my. A celebrity."

"Wait, the garden. Like Eden? Adam and Eve? Fig-leaves garden?"

"It's his fault...all of it. The corruption of man, demons, hell. God left because of him. The archangels...the apocalypse. If he hadn't been so weak, none of it would have happened. You ruined the universe, you damn son of a bitch!"

"Cas! Cas! Hey!"

"Calm down Cas."

"He..."

"We get it. But you got to chill."

Crowley goes digging some more, twisting the needles, but we're not getting anything and Dean was getting impatient.

"What's taking so long?"

"Other than the fact that I'm trying to unravel a living, multidimensional knot of pure energy, not much."

After one more twist, he comes back to life.

"It won't work. You will never find your brother. Go ahead. Poke and prod. I can sit in this chair for years and watch you fail over and over again. I've endured much worse than this Dean. So...much...worse. And I have all the time in the world."

"Shut up! Alright, plan 'B'. Cas, you got to possess him."

"What?"

"Do it now! Get in there, tell Sam what's going on, and help him kick that lying son of a bitch out!"

"It might work. But I can't possess a vessel without permission."

Just then Crowley clears his throat, getting our attention.

"You?" I question.

"No. Not happening."

"Don't be daft. Demons can take what they want. I can burrow into that rat's nest of a head. I can wake Sam up. Just call me Plan 'C'."

"You can't-" Cas starts to say, but gets cut off by Dean.

"You got a better idea? What about the angel?"

"I'll work fast."

"And if he finds you?"

"I'll run. I'm not dying for you lot. Of course, if I do this, you're gonna have to..."

"Take off the leash. Yeah, I know."

"And it stays off. I save Sam, I leave here a free man. Do we have a deal?"

"Dean..."

"No Brooke, this is the only way. Cas, burn off Sam's tattoo."

"Dean."

"Do it. Do it."

With hesitation, Cas goes up and exposes the tattoo and burns it off.

"If you mess with Sam, if you try anything-"

"I keep my bargains. Besides, I don't want to be inside your brother any longer than I have to. I'm not one for sloppy seconds."

He sits and Dean takes the chains off, stepping away. "When you find him, say 'Poughkeepsie'. It's our go word. It means 'drop everything and run'."

"Fine. While I'm gone, hands off the suit."

"I will destroy you."

"Eat me."

And with that, he leaves his vessel and goes into Sam, leaving us to just sit and wait.

"And now we wait."

"A demon and an angel walk into my brother. Sounds like a bad joke."

"Dean, if this doesn't work..."

"It'll work."

_In Sam's dream, he's researching as he would on any case in the bunker. _

_"I mean, it just doesn't make any sense. Why is this ghoul only chomping on dead cheerleaders?"_

_"Hey, you want a beer?!"_

_"No I'm fine."_

_"Not bad." Crowley states, in result scaring Sam. _

_"Dean? Dean!"_

_"Poughkeepsie."_

_"How do you know that word?"_

_"Because Dean sent me, Bullwinkle, the real Dean. I'll make this quick..you've been possessed by an angel. He's got you packed away in some dusty corner of your own mind, and I'm here to break you out."_

_"Seriously?"_

_"Fine. We'll do this the fun way." He says as he shoots Sam, but he doesn't die. "See? Not real. Like I said. I know how possession works Sam. You've seen everything that he's seen, even if you can't remember. That's what I need you to do. I need you to remember."_

_He does indeed remember, bits and pieces but he remembers. _

_"Did I kill Kevin?"_

_"No, you didn't. He did. You need to take control Sam. Blow it up and cast that punk ass holy roller out! What? Oh, Bollocks."_

_"Hello Sam."_

_"Who are you?"_

_"His name is Gadreel, the original chump."_

_"Was a chump. And now? I'm going to be the one that leads my kind back to heaven. I'm going ot be a hero. But you, demon, for all your chatter, you will always be a coward. You should be running."_

_He doesn't run, but instead clocks him across the face. But that causes him to fight back, sending Crowley across the room and kicks him in the ribs a few times. Sam goes after him, only to be thrown across the room himself. _

_"Give up boy. You're not strong enough."_

_"Take control Sam! Cast him out!"_

_"Get out of my-" _

_"You sure you want me to go? Maybe I'm the only thing holding you together. I leave, you might die."_

_"I said get...the hell...out!"_

And with that he's out of Sam's body as we shield ourselves from the bright light coming from him. Metatron is still at the bar however, waiting for Gadreel to return, but he never does.

"Waiting for someone?"

"I am, and he's late."

Just then the lights dim and glasses shatter, Gadreel entering the original vessel.

"Let me guess. Winchester trouble?"

Crowley then exits his body and goes back to his.

"Sam! Cas?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Crowley says sarcastically.

"Sam, are you okay?"

"Cas?"

We then see lights and hear a car approaching.

"Who can that be?" I ask as Cas goes to look.

"It's Abaddon."

"Go. The back door. I'll handle this." Crowley states as Cas and I help Sam out.

"Oh, 'cause you're such a good guy?"

"Right now, I'm the goodest guy you got."

"This don't make us square. I see you again-"

"I'm dead. Yes, I know. I love you too. Pleasure doing business with you lot, as always."

We quickly leave and he sits down, the door opening as she walks in.

"Hello darling."

"Crowley. Bring me his head."

"See, that's the thing about demons. They're only obedient to a point. Right. Let's have a chat."

"I'm not here to talk."

"And I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to them, the average demon, because I feel their pain. It must have been difficult, with your loving king so cruelly taken from you. I imagine you felt all at sea. And then along came...the brute. She's strong...and a knight and immortal...at the moment. So I'm not surprised that some of my more idiotic subjects bought her line. But now? Good news fellas. Daddy's home."

"Hell doesn't want you Crowley. It's mine."

"Is it? Not what I hear. Not while I'm still kicking."

"Well then, let's settle it. You and me. Right here. Winner takes the crown."

"See, that's your problem love. You think this is a fight."

"It's not?"

"It's a campaign. Hearts and minds, that's what's important. See the demons have a choice...take orders from the world's angriest ginger...and that's saying something...or join my team, where everyone gets a say, a virgin, and all the entrails they can eat. So think on this lads. Spread the word...vote Crowley." He says before he disappears.

In the meantime, since we've escaped, we went to some docks and it started to rain. But Cas at the same time healed Sam's wounds on his head due to the needles.

"You feel better?"

"A little, yeah."

"It'll take time to fully heal you. We'll have to do it in stages."

"Alright. Let me hear it." Dean tells Sam, cueing Cas and I to step away and let them have their brother to brother argument.

"What do you want me to say...that I'm pissed? Okay. I am. I'm pissed. You lied to me. Again."

"I didn't have a choice."

"I was ready to die Dean!"

"I know. But I wouldn't let you, because that's not in me."

"So, what? You decide to trick me into being possessed by some...psycho angel?"

"He saved your life."

"So what? I was willing to die. And now...Kevin..."

"No. That is not on you. Kevin's blood is on my hands, and that ain't ever getting clean. I'll burn for that. I will. But I'll find Gadreel. And I will end that son of a bitch. But I'll do it alone."

"Whoa whoa whoa." I state, walking over after clearly hearing his words. "Doing it alone? You're kidding me right?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, Can't you both see? I'm...I'm poison guys. People get close to me, they get killed...or worse."

"Not me." I cross my arms over my chest.

"You know, I tell myself that I..I...I help more people than I hurt. And I tell myself that I'm...I'm doing it all for the right reasons, and I believe that. But I can't...I won't...drag anybody through the muck with me. Not anymore."

"Go. I'm not gonna stop you. But don't go thinking that's the problem, 'cause it's not."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just go."

"Dean wait." I call to him. "Sam, are you gonna be okay?" I ask as I watch Dean get into the Impala.

"I'll be fine. I'll be with Cas, I'll be just fine."

"Alright well, want me to check in with you when I get the chance?"

"If you want." He nods.

"Then I will. Talk to you later alright?"

"Yeah." He nods.

I hesitantly head towards the car, opening the door before Dean could pull off.

"You're not going anywhere without me."

"Brooke..."

"No Dean." I say, getting into the passenger side and closing the door. "You're not leaving me behind. Not again. I don't give a damn what you say. You may be able to leave Sam behind, but you're not leaving me behind. You do realize that nothing has happened to me in the time we've known each other. I can take care of myself, that's why. We got into this mess together and we're going to end it together, whether you like it or not."

"You're stubborn, you know that right?"

"Remind you of someone?"


	12. First Born

**_Jasper Springs, Mississippi 1863_**

_This soldier arrives at this small cabin, where two others were waiting for him._

_"He's coming! Stand your ground, no matter what happens. The Knight must be protected."_

_There's some rumbling for a bit before it stops. The men's eyes turn black, as they're demons, and they aim their guns. As soon as the first soldier turns around, there's another man there who kills him, along with the other two._

**Present Day**

After everything that had happened between Sam and Dean, we stopped off at a bar to just get some down time.

"So...is that boudoir smile for me?" Crowley asks, and we both turn to see him sitting next to Dean.

"Crowley, what are you doing here?" I question.

Dean doesn't hesitate and takes out the knife ready to kill him.

"At least buy me a drink first."

"I said the next time I see you-"

"-dead. Yes, rings a bell, but let's not dwell on the past, shall we? This bar is a bust, and your prey, Gadreel, has left the building. So it's time to move on to more pressing matters, like destroying Abaddon."

"Yeah, good luck with that. The Knights of Hell aren't exactly the dying kind."

"No kidding." I scoff.

"But there is something that can kill a Knight."

"What are you going on about Crowley?"

"The weapon that the archangels used to execute them...the first blade."

"Never heard of it. Can I kill you now?"

"I've been chasing that blade for decades. The closest I got to it was when one of my droogs...Smitty...got wind of a protege demon of Abaddon's who claimed knowledge of the blade. Sadly, before Smitty could nab the guy, a hunter by the name of John Winchester nabbed the protege. I'm here to see if there's anything in the John Winchester Memorial Library that might lead us to the first blade...to killing Abaddon."

"You want to hunt? With us?"

"I do love a good buddy comedy."

Dean then takes out his father's journal that he carries around with him everywhere and starts to look through for something on the first blade.

"Oh yeah. Here it is. Yeah, he picked up a protege who had bones with Abaddon, but that's about all it says in here."

"What do those numbers in the margins mean?"

"None of your business."

"You're gonna play hard to get? We have time for a montage?"

"It's code...one of my Dad's storage lockers. He may have put something about the case there."

"And what does the 'T' next to the numbers mean?"

"Not a clue."

"Fine. Let's go find Daddy's man cave then, shall we?"

"And how do we know this isn't a trap?"

"You...don't. That's what makes it fun." Crowley states before leaving and heading out to the car.

"Do we really have to work a case with him?" I ask.

"Gets us closer to killing Abaddon."

"But it's Crowley. He's got to have something up his sleeve though."

"We'll gank him later. Let's go." Dean says before slapping down some money to pay for the drinks, before we leave.

But little did we know, a demon was right next to us listening to the entire conversation. In the meantime, Cas was back at the bunker, trying to enjoy a sandwich when Sam came back.

"Hey."

"Tastes like...molecules."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"When I was human, you know, I had to eat constantly. It was kind of annoying."

"Yeah, a lot of human things are pretty annoying."

"But...I enjoyed the taste of food. Particularly peanut butter with grape jelly, not jam. Jam I found unsettling."

"So, what? Now you can't taste PB and J?"

"No, I-I taste every molecule."

"Not the sum of it's parts huh?"

"It's overwhelming. It's disgusting. I miss you PB and J. We need to continue your healing. We're almost done."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're a terrible liar."

"That is not true. I once deceived and betrayed you, your brother and Brooke."

"Okay, that's not the point. Cas, what's wrong?"

"I noticed something. It's uh...it's resonating inside you."

"What?"

"Something angelic."

"Okay, uh, what the hell does that mean?"

"Maybe we should call Dean."

"No. He wanted to go and he's gone. We'll handle this."

And back with the three of us, to make sure Crowley didn't know where we were going exactly, we made sure his head was covered, as we led him inside of the storage locker of Dean's father's. Once we were inside, we uncover his head.

"Is all this really necessary? I mean, I've been inside your brother. We're practically family."

That's when Dean takes him and pushes him up against one of the shelves.

"Listen to me. We are the furthest thing from family. You got that dickbag?"

"Oh yeah."

"Now you want to hunt? Let's hunt." Dean says going into one of the gated off areas.

"I'll be right here." Crowley says since he can't move any further due to the Devil's trap.

"So, what do you call this decor anyway? Rustic Obsessive? Paranoid Deco?"

"Here we go. Looks like my dad was working with another hunter when he nabbed Abaddon's pet." Dean says, showing us a picture.

"I guess the 'T' didn't stand for terrible father. It stood for-"

"-Tara. Doesn't ring a bell. Alright, looks like they interrogated the demon. Then they exorcised him. But not before he mentioned the first blade."

"I love it when I'm right."

"Yeah well, the rest of the file's empty genius."

"What? Didn't they teach note taking at hunter's Hogwarts?"

"Let's see if Tara's still kicking."

"I've found, well, something. It's a detail about when angels leave their vessels...I think. It's uh, Enochian, which can be a bit flowery. And the departed shall remain, and the remains shall be the departed." Cas states as he and Sam are digging though the books on what's angelic inside of Sam.

"Okay, so when an angel leaves a vessel, they leave behind a piece of themselves. Like uh...like an angelic fingerprint."

"Whatever you want to call it, this piece of the departed contains grace."

"Wait, you're saying there's angelic grace inside of me?"

"Yes. But it's fading each time I heal you."

"Okay. Is that good or bad?"

"Well, it's harmless. But the grace itself...might be helpful. According to this, we may be able to use the grace that remains inside of you to track Gadreel...if we can extract it."

"How would we do that?"

"Well...painfully. The men of letters believe that you could perform a tracking spell with extracted grace, but they were never able to test the theory."

"Well they didn't have a guinea pig, but we do."

"You have a guinea pig? Where?"

"Me Cas. I'm the guinea pig."

"Oh. Any idea where that is?" Cas asks about the extractor.

The three of us however were able to find out where Tara was, finding out that she owned a pawn shop. So after pulling up to the shop, we walk inside.

"Tara?" Dean questions.

"That's what the sign says. Can I help you?"

"Yeah, hope so. John Winchester ring a bell? I'm his son."

"You Sam or Dean?"

"Dean."

"Well, didn't you grow up pretty. Still in the family business?"

"Yeah, born and raised. Listen, bunch of years back, you worked a job with my dad. Well me, my girlfriend and my uh, associate h-" Dean gets cut off by Tara pointing a gun in our direction.

"Ever since '92, I get a painful little tickle in what's left of my knee whenever a demon is around."

"Hunters. So trusting. I'll go grab a latte while you get this sorted." Crowley says as he snaps his fingers but he doesn't disappear.

"Devil's trap under the knock off Persian, jackass."

"Tara listen, my uh, associate..."

"Friends...besties actually."

"Not helping."

"Not caring."

"Look, I'm the King of Hell. He's a Winchester. She's the girlfriend of a Winchester. There's a reason why we're working together."

"Yeah. It's called possession." She states before splashing us both with holy water.

"See? We're good. Okay? Yes, you're right. He is a jackass, but he's helping us on this."

"Helping you with what?"

"You and my old man found a demon who knew something about the first blade. We need to find that blade."

"Well, hell. You are as handsome as John. And as dumb too, if you're looking for that old relic."

"We're hunting a Knight of Hell."

"Why? They're all dead."

"One came back. Abaddon."

"And she's been nothing but a pain in our ass since we've been dealing with her." I add.

That's all it took to convince her, so she started to pull out all the info that she and Dean's father collected from the case where they exorcised that demon.

"The demon said the archangels used a weapon that could kill the Knights of Hell. We'd never heard of anything like the Knights of Hell or a first blade. Your dad thought he was lying, trying to save himself. We took him out. And we had a lovely weekend together. Then we went our separate ways. But I could never let the blade go. Something like that could really give a hunter an edge, you know? I looked all over the world...destroyed my knee and my life. And all I found? A location spell for the blade. That I could never finish. Couldn't find one ingredient...essence of Kraken."

"Kraken? I got a warehouse full of Kraken essence in Belize. Break the trap, I can be there and back before you say 'Presto'."

"Presto."

"I can help. Dean?"

"He wants Abaddon as dead as we do."

"If your daddy could see you now." She says before taking her gun, moving the rug, and shooting the trap so it's broken and Crowley disappears.

"You know, even if that blade is real, it ain't worth being bosom buddies with the King of Hell."

"Abaddon? Way worse."

"Exactly." I nod.

"We'll deal with Crowley after. Trust me."

"You sound just like your Dad...when he said he'd call me."

Just then Crowley clears his throat to break the awkwardness. "Shall we?" He asks.

She then pulls out a map and we put together all the ingredients. Once it's done and mixed together, she pours it onto the map and Dean lights a match, the map engulfed in flames. It burns until it pinpoints the location of the blade.

"Missouri. Figures."

"Would you care to join us?"

"Them? Anytime. You? Never."

"Thank you."

"Good luck Dean. You're gonna need it."

He nods and then we walk out and get back into the car, driving to Missouri, and the exact location where the spell pinpointed us to. When we get there, we get out and start looking around at our surroundings.

"Wait." Crowley stops us.

"What?"

"I'm feeling something."

"Oh, cramps?" Dean remarks, and I can't help but snicker.

"I feel something dark."

"What, darker than you?"

"Oh no." Crowley says as he looks off behind us.

We turn to see someone attending to bees.

"Oh no what? It's just a guy tending to some bees."

"We need to leave here now."

"What, are you allergic to bees?"

"That's not a beekeeper. That's the father of murder."

"Sorry who?"

"It's Cain."

"As in Cain and Able?"

"Dean. We need to be a world away from here...from him." Crowley says as he turns around to get back in the car, but Cain is there behind him.

"You're not going anywhere. Crowley."

With that we were invited into his house, and were sat in the living room while we waited for him to return with some tea.

"Why don't you just zap out of here?" Dean asks Crowley.

"I'd never leave my domestic partner in crime."

"Yeah, like your heart grew three sizes. You can't zap out of here, can you?"

"Cain's doing something to me."

"Well, it's not your day for getaways is it? Alright, so tell me about this Cain."

"Well after Cain killed Able, he became a demon."

"What do you mean 'became a demon'?"

"Yeah, how does that even happen?"

"I mean he became the deadliest demon to walk the face of the Earth. Killed thousands. The best at being the worst. And then he just...disappeared. Everyone thought he was dead or, at least hoped he was."

"Any of you keep bees?" Cain asks. "It's very relaxing. They're such noble creatures. And the honey, well I keep it right on the comb. There you are. They're dying you know. Without bees, makind will cease to exist. So, what are the King of Hell, a Winchester and a Winchester's significant other doing at my house?"

"You know who we are?"

"I'm retired. I'm not dead. What I don't know is why you're looking for me...more importantly, how you found me."

"Ah that's uh, a funny story really. Bit of a misunderstanding. We really should..."

"Shhh."

And just like that Crowley can't talk.

"Oh, you gotta teach me how to do that."

"That would come in handy someday." I nod.

"Why are you here Dean?"

"We're looking for the weapon the archangels used to kill the Knights of Hell. The first blade. We need it to kill a Knight of Hell...Abaddon. Look, I get it. You're retired. We're not here to get between you and the demonic AARP, but it's bad out there and I'm just looking to even the odds."

"One last time...how did you find me?"

"We didn't. The location spell was for the blade. One time deal."

"Honestly." I add.

"Anyone else know you're here?"

"No."

Back with Tara, she was getting some things from the back when someone walked in and her knee started to hurt again.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. Wonder if you might have seen some of my friends pass through here. Big guy, kind of funny ears."

She then grabs her gun, pointing it at him, and then shoots him.

"Well, it's been a pleasure having company, but once a century is enough for me. You can let yourselves out."

"Hey listen pal. We're not leaving here without the blade."

"You have quite a reputation Dean. I see the part about you being brave rings true."

"Well, what can I say? I'm an all-in kind of guy. Abaddon is the last Knight of Hell, and if you're out of the game, what the hell do you are if she dies?"

"If your friend here could talk, he would tell you that I trained the Knights of Hell. I built that entire demonic order with my own hands...Abaddon included."

"Well, that is information we could've used five minutes ago!"

"Yeah, seriously. What the hell Crowley?" I give him a look.

"Well here's something your friend doesn't know, that no ones knows in fact...outside of Abaddon. It wasn't the archangels that slaughtered the Knights. It was me."

"Why did you turn on your own?"

"Once again, I admire your bravery. But if you'll excuse me, I have errands to run in town. Goodbye Dean Winchester. Never return."

We then leave shortly after.

"Well, that was lovely. Can we leave the country now?"

"By all means go ahead. We're not stopping you." I scoff.

"You said the first blade was our only shot at killing Abaddon. This is the closest you've been to it. We're not leaving."

"Will you listen to reason for once?"

"Hey. He said he was going into town. Awesome. We wait till he's gone, come back, bust in, take what's ours. Got it?"

"Sam, may I ask you a question?" Cas asks him since they've retrieved the extractor.

"You just did."

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Well, technically you...yeah, go ahead. What's up?"

"Sam, the trials. You chose not to go through with them for a reason didn't you? You chose to live rather than to sacrifice yourself. You and Dean...chose each other."

"Yeah I did. We did. And then...Dean made a choice for me."

"What Dean did.."

"It doesn't matter what Dean did. Look, I could have put a stop to all this Cas. I could've closed the gates of Hell."

"Oh, Sam."

"Dean's gone, okay? This is on me now, and if I can find Gadreel...I can fix this. Now...being a human means settling your debts. Let's start balancing the books."

Dean, myself and Crowley had waited until Cain was gone to break into his house basically to see if we could find the first blade.

"This is by far the dumbest idea you've ever had."

"Yeah well, it's early."

"Oh, there's nothing here. Shame. Let's go."

"Hey, sack up and start looking, okay? We don't have that much time."

We split up into different parts of the house to look for the blade, but we can't seem to find it in the house at all. What we didn't know was that the demon at the bar, found us.

"You'll never believe what the Winchester, his girl and Crowley found. Send back up. Send everybody."

In the meantime, Cas had gotten the extractor ready and stuck it into Sam's neck.

"Now comes the part that will actually hurt. I'm gonna begin the extraction." Cas states, extracting the grace.

"Is it working?"

"Yeah."

"But?"

"I-I need to push the needle in deeper. We need more grace in order to cast the spell."

"Okay. Do it."

"Sam, if I get too close to-"

"-Damn it Cas! Just do it."

He does so reluctantly and Sam starts to freak out, getting flashbacks, and that causes Cas to pull the needle out.

"What the hell was that?"

"Your body is regressing to the state it was in before Gadreel."

"Do we have enough grace for the summoning spell?"

"Sam."

"Do we or not Cas?"

"No."

"Then keep going."

"Nothing. Not even porn." Crowley states as he comes back to Dean.

"Nada." I add, doing the same.

"Think I figured out why he went off the reservation so many years ago." Dean says, showing us a picture of this woman named Colette.

"Lovely. Little plain. Who is she?"

"Cain had a similar ring on. Father of murder got hitched."

Just then we hear a door open.

"Oh crap." I mutter.

"He's back. Come on."

When we try to leave, we find out that we can't actually leave.

"Go."

We try to go out a different way and Cain is there standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"That belongs to me." He says about the picture of his wife.

"Sorry. Gorgeous, by the way."

We hear a vehicle approach and then see headlights.

"Who's that? No one knew we were here." I remark, as we all go to the window to see who it is, finding out it's a load of demons.

"I don't suppose they're with you."

"No."

"I guess we can't wait any longer. Your friend Tara was very helpful! Got downright chatty...after I peeled all her skin off. We don't want any trouble, Cain. Just want the so-called King, the Winchester and his girl. I got a new master to impress, and I'm betting bagging those three will do just that."

"Master?"

"Abaddon. This lot all need to die. I count..."

"...too many."

"We can't possibly take on every single one of them by ourselves." I sigh.

"The whammy you put on the doors that keeps us in. Will it keep them out?"

"For now."

"I'm gonna barricade the entrances. Get ready for a fight." Dean says as he takes the bookcase to put in front of the front door.

"Well, good luck with that."

"What?"

"You exposed my home. You exposed me."

"Well boo-hoo."

"Brave, but impulsive. You truly have lived up to your reputation."

"I can't say you've lived up to yours."

"What can I say? I'm retired. If you survive, you're welcome to join me for the last meal I will eat in this house before I disappear again. It's the least I can do."

"Sam? Sam?!"

"Keep going."

"Why?"

"We...we...we have to find Gadreel."

"No. Why must the Winchesters run toward death?"

"No, don't. Don't. Don't stop."

"Sam, when I was human, I died. And that showed me that life is precious, and it must be protected at all costs, even a life as...as pig-headed as a Winchester's."

"My life's not worth any more than anyone else's. Not yours or Deans or Brooke's...or Kevin's. Please. Please help me do one thing right. Keep going."

He does, still hesitantly, while Dean and I were now in the kitchen barricading that door with the fridge.

"Alright, we got this. You take the front." He says to Crowley.

He does so, closing the doors, and Cain is preparing dinner by peeling the corn.

"So, this is your play? Corn? What am I not getting here? I mean, it's not like you're a coward."

"Since when does the great Dean Winchester ask for help? Well, that doesn't sound like the man I've read about on demon bathroom walls. Maybe you've lost a step. Let's find out." Cain snaps his fingers and the door is opened only long enough to let two of the demons in.

"Oh, don't mind me. Enjoy yourself."

"You take him, I'll take the girl." I tell him and he nods, as we take out our knives.

But before anything could happen, one bursts through the doors to the other room and he goes after Dean first. It wasn't long before he killed the demon that came through the back door first, while I was still in a fight with the other one that was with him. She actually got away from me for a few seconds to help the other one slam Dean onto the kitchen table.

"Doing great." Cain states.

"Alright, it's on bitch." I grumble as I get up from the floor and pull her away from Dean long enough for him to fight back with the other one. After punches and such were thrown, I was able to turn things around on her and kill her, throwing her to the ground just as Dean managed to kill the one he was fighting.

"What? Was that some kind of test?"

"I felt connected to you right from the beginning. Kindred spirits, if you will. You and I are very much alike."

"Right. Yeah, except I didn't kill my brother."

"You saved yours. Why?"

"Because you never give up on family...ever."

"Where's your brother now then?"

"I don't know what kind of game you're playing here, and I don't really care. Just give me the damn blade."

"Sorry Dean. I have nothing to hand over."

"What?"

"I no longer have the blade."

"But you have to have it. I mean we did a location spell for the damn thing. It has to be here." I add.

"It's gone."

"What do you mean it's gone?"

As for Sam, he wasn't doing so good with the extraction of the grace as he was starting to become weak.

"Hold on. This may pinch." Cas says, pulling the needle out.

"Cas, what the hell?"

He says nothing and then goes to healing him completely.

"Cas. What the hell was that?!"

"I've healed your wounds completely."

"And the grace?"

"Well, whatever grace was inside you is gone now. What's left of Gadreel is in here. We'll just have to try the spell with what we have."

"Damn it."

"Sam, I want Gadreel to pay as much as you do. But nothing is worth losing you. You know, being human, it didn't just change my view of food. It changed my view of you. I mean, I can relate now to how you feel."

"What are you talking about?"

"The only person who has screwed things up more consistently than you...is me. And now I know what that guilt feels like. And I know what it...I know what it means to feel sorry, Sam. I am sorry."

"I know."

"You know, old me...I would've just kept going. I would've jammed that needle in deeper until you died because the ends always justified the means. But what I went through...well, that PB and J taught me that angels can change, so...who knows? Maybe Winchesters can too."

"How?" Crowley asks Cain about the blade being gone. "The spell brought us here to you, so it has to be here."

"Your spell brought you to the source of the blade's power. Me." Cain states, lifting up his sleeve to show us this mark on his arm.

"Really? Now?" Dean asks Crowley as he basically makes a cross with his fingers.

"It's the bloody mark of Cain."

"From Lucifer himself. The mark and the blade work together. Without the mark, the blade is useless. It's just an old bone."

"A bone?"

"The jawbone of an animal. The jawbone you used to kill Abel. Because he was God's favorite."

"Abel wasn't talking to God. He was talking to Lucifer. Lucifer was gonna make my brother into his pet. I couldn't bear to watch him be corrupted, so I offered a deal...Abel's soul in Heaven for my soul in Hell. Lucifer accepted...as long as I was the one who sent Abel to Heaven. So, I killed him. Became a soldier of Hell...a knight."

"And Lucifer ordered you to make more."

"My knights and I, we did horrible things...for centuries. Bringers of chaos and darkness."

"Then you met Colette."

"She knew who I was...and what I was. She loved me unconditionally. She forgave me. She only asked for one thing."

"To stop."

"When the knights found out, they took retribution. They took Colette, so I picked the first blade back up, and it felt so good to have it in my hands again, and I slaughtered the knights of Hell."

"Not all of them."

"No."

**_Flashback_**

_"Colette."_

_"My love."_

_"What have you done to my wife? Answer me, Abaddon!"_

_"We can make this right, can't we, Cain? Come back to us. Come back to me."_

_"I'm done."_

_"With the knights or with me?"_

_"I'm done!"_

_"Then so is she." Abaddon states as she starts to break Colette's bones from the inside. _

_"No. Stop it!"_

_"We could have been forever, but you chose her. Well, if I can't have you, then neither can she." She says, breaking more bones. _

_"Enjoying the view? I know I am. Best seat in the house." She laughs before leaving her body._

_Cain tries to kill her before she can exit fully, but it's too late._

_"No, Colette! Colette, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I will find Abaddon, and I will kill her."_

_"No, there's been enough killing. Promise me. You're better than all of this."_

_With that she dies._

"So I buried her, and I walked away."

"Well I'm sorry...truly. But I have to stop Abaddon. So, where is the blade?"

"No."

"Hey! Listen, you son of a bitch. You may be done killing, but I'm not."

That's when Cain takes Dean's hand with the knife and stabs him, but he doesn't die.

"You never give up on anything, do you?"

"Never."

"Well, I do." Cain states before disappearing.

"Cain?"

"Where'd he go?"

"Cain?!"

Just then we hear shouting outside, so we quickly go to the windows and see a whole bunch of demons making their way to the house.

"Well, I'll stay as long as I can." Crowley states.

"Aren't you a peach?"

Cain in the meantime had gone to where he buried Colette, kneeling down on her grave.

"I've tried. I've tried Colette, to see myself as you did. But I know who I am...what I am. I know you watch over me still. But I need you to look away now."

"What are we gonna do? There's too many of them to take on ourselves." I ask, as we hear them on the front porch of the house, and then banging on the door.

"I don't know." Dean says as he looks around and then he sees Cain back. "What the hell man? You in or out? I'm getting head spins."

"I can give you the mark Dean, if it's what you truly want."

"What are you talking about?"

"How can you give him the mark?"

"The mark can be transferred to someone who's worthy."

"You mean a killer like you?"

"Yes."

"Can I use it to kill that bitch?"

"Yes. But you have to know with the mark comes a great burden. Some would call it a great cost."

"Yeah well, spare me the warning label. You had me at 'kill the bitch'."

"Good luck Dean." Cain says as they grab hands. "You're gonna need it."

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Let's dance."

He then grabs Dean's forearm and we watch as the mark slowly but surely gets transferred from Cain's arm to Dean's.

"Dean?"

"Are you alright?" I ask.

"I'm fine. Alright, where the hell did you stash the damn blade?"

"Nothing can destroy the blade, so I threw it to the bottom of the deepest ocean. It's the only way I could keep my promise to Colette. You find the blade, kill Abaddon, but make me a promise first. When I call you...and I will call...you come find me and use the blade on me."

"Why?"

"For what I'm about to do." He says, snapping his fingers, the protection being taken off the doors, letting the demons in. Before we know it, we're outside, watching the demons go inside.

"What the..." I trail off, as I realize we're outside.

"They're all trapped in there." Crowley states as we see the house light up in red.

"With him." Dean finishes his sentence before we all rush and get back into the car and leave.

Cas and Sam however were doing the spell to use the grace with in order to find Gadreel. It kind of bubbles then fades out.

"Was that, uh...was that it?"

"I'm afraid there wasn't enough grace. We'll have to find Gadreel another way. I'm sorry Sam."

"It's alright Cas. You, uh...you were right. You were right about everything." Sam says, hugging him. "Now's the part where you hug back."

"Oh. Right. Uh, sorry."

"Ah, there you go."

"As far as I'm concerned, Metatron is the key to fixing everything that's wrong. I'm gonna find him. You know Sam, we could use all the help we could get to find Gadreel and Metatron."

"We got this."

"He was right you know." Crowley states as Dean parks the car. "You are worthy."

"Oh great. now you're gonna get all touchy-feely too?"

"Your problem mate, is that nobody hates you more than you do. Believe me, I've tried."

"So how do we find this blade?"

"You can't search the bottom of the ocean, but I can. So I'll find it and bring it to its new owner." Crowley says before getting out of the car.

"I saw you Crowley." Dean says before he too gets out. "Back at Cain's. You dusted that undercard demon, and then you just sat back and watched the main event. You knew. You knew about the mark. You knew about Abaddon and Cain. You knew all of it. And you played me. Why?"

"He would never have given me the blade. Who can say no to you? I need you to play along."

"You knew we were being followed, and you didn't say anything."

"Well, Cain would want to see his prize fighter up close. You plus demons equals fight night."

"Tara died. Thanks to you."

"Omelets. Broken eggs. Et cetera."

Dean just nods before punching him in the face.

"After I kill Abaddon, you're next!"

"You don't mean that. We're having too much fun. Listen up. Even with the blade, we're gonna need all the help we can get against Abaddon."

"Go find the blade."

"It's always something with you boys, isn't it?"

As soon as he disappears, Dean kind of rubs at his arm where the mark is. I sit back in the Impala with a concerned look on my face.


	13. Sharp Teeth

**Grantsburg, Wisconsin**

It's the dead of night and the animals seem to be going crazy on a farm, one being slaughtered by something obviously. That' when someone runs from the barn and into the woods, where the owner of said farm chases them, shooting a gun off when they get the chance. The guy reaches a road and ends up being hit by a car, that man being Garth. We obviously heard the news, Dean and I were already there of course. Sam had shown up just a while later.

"Afternoon. I'm looking for a John Doe that was admitted here a few days ago. He's a uh...skinny...Ichabod Crane-looking kind of guy."

"I know just who you mean. Room 113, agent."

"Alright, thanks."

"Sure is a popular fella."

Just as Dean was going to inject Garth with adrenaline, with the needle he had in his hand, Sam walked in. It's silent for a while, too silent. Cut the tension with a knife as you would say.

"Would someone say something?"

"Saw Garth's John Doe on the police wire. You?"

"Yeah. Where you comin' from?"

"New Mexico."

"Well, that's a haul. Especially considering that we got this, uh...pretty much covered. So if you want to..."

"Dean..." I give him a look.

"You spoken to him yet?"

"No. Assload of painkillers. He's been out since we got here."

"What's he being charged with?" Sam asks when he notices the handcuffs.

"Killing a cow."

"Why?"

"I was about to see if we could find out. Lock the door."

"Whoa. Hey. What is that? Adrenaline?"

"Yes sir."

"You trying to jump start him or kill him?"

"That's what I said." I add.

"I want some answers. He walked out on Kevin. He walked out on us. So if you got a better idea..." Dean trails off, and Sam slaps Garth across the face, initially waking him up and he screams.

"Dean? Brooke? Sam? What is this? A hospital? Wait. Am I in Heaven?"

"Alright, take it easy Garth. You're in Wisconsin."

"You were hit by a car. Do you remember anything?"

"I uh...vaguely. What's with the hardware?" He asks about the handcuffs.

"You tell us. And while you're at it, why don't you give us the lowdown on why you went awol for the past six months? Only way we tracked you down is that you offed a cow."

"Offed a...what?"

"You apparently killed a cow."

"I...I...I was on a hunt."

"Hunt for what?"

"I...oh no. Oh, get back. Ohh. Oh, god." Garth says, rushing out of bed and into the bathroom where he initially throws up.

"Good thing I didn't give him the adrenaline."

"No kidding."

While Garth is still in the bathroom puking his brains out as many would say, we're left out in the room by ourselves as we wait, and after a while he's still throwing up.

"How long do you think he'll be in there?"

"Who knows. So, anything on Gadreel?" Dean asks Sam.

"Actually uh, yeah. Turns out he uh, he left some grace in me before he bolted."

"You know how wrong that sounds right?" Dean asks and I snicker a bit.

"Wouldn't worry about it. Cas took care of it."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing. We're gone for two weeks, and you're like an episode of 'Teen Mom'. Just breathe Garth. Work it out."

"What happened to your arm?" Sam questions.

"Oh. It's a...gift from Cain."

"Like...the wrestler?"

"I wish. That would be awesome. Uh no. The uh...the old testament dude. He got all biblical on me and gave me his mark."

"What does it even mean? How...how did that happen?"

"We and Crowley found him, and he gave me this so that I could eighty-six Abaddon once and for all."

"You worked a job with Crowley?"

"The devil you know..."

We then notice that it's gone silent and Garth has stopped throwing up but hasn't come out of the bathroom.

"Garth?"

"What?"

"Shit." I remark an we rush to the bathroom and open the door to find Garth gone and he's escaped through the window.

"Son of a bitch." Dean says and we quickly leave the room and head outside.

"Why would Garth run from us?"

"Why haven't we heard from him for the last six months? Did you test him?"

"He was unconscious. No, I...he steal a car?"

"Did he...steal a car naked?" Sam asks as we see Garth's hospital gown on the ground.

That's when Dean notices the security camera outside on the roof.

"Brooke and I will see what we can find on those cameras. Why don't you go talk to Farmer Brown, see about that cow?"

"Yeah."

That's exactly what he does, going to the farm where the incident with Garth happened.

"Last week, it was a couple of chickens. Goat the week before that. So when I saw that boy tearing out of my barn, hell yeah I was gonna ask questions later."

"Now, the animals...were they all killed in the same manner?"

"More like sacrificed."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Their organs was ripped clean out. Only the organs. If this wasn't some kind of devil worship thing, I don't know what."

"Mm. Well thanks."

After that he gets back into his car and heads back to the hospital. He calls Dean while we're just leaving the security office with the camera still shots of Garth.

"Yeah?"

"So, the cow wasn't just killed. It was eviscerated."

"Well, why was Garth there?"

"He said he was on a hunt right? Maybe he was hunting whatever killed it."

"Why would he run? This whole thing's starting to stink. You know that right?"

"Yeah. What about you two? Any luck?"

"Uh, nada. Cameras were pointing in the wrong direction." Dean states, clearly lying and I give him a look for it.

"You're kidding."

"Wish I was."

"Hmm. So..."

"So Garth's a hunter. If he wants to stay gone, he's gone."

"We got nothing?"

"Well, what can I say Sammy? We lost this one. Send me a postcard."

However, little did Dean know, Sam was coming in our direction from another end and caught him in his little lie, taking the camera shots from him.

"Wow. Make, model, license plate. Really Dean?"

"I told him not to hide it from you." I state.

"I told you we can't hunt together. It's for your own good."

"I hear you. And after we find Garth and get to the bottom of this, I'm gone. But until then, no more games."

"Ride belongs to a girl names Bess Meyers. She lives in the next town over."

"Well let's go then. Let's not waste any time and go." I state, and that's what we do.

When we do get there, the door instantly gets kicked in and we come in with guns out, ready to shoot.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa, whoa! Hey guys. I can explain. Everything's cool. Just a simple misunderstanding."

"Who you talking to?"

"What?"

"The girl?"

"What...what girl?"

"Well..." I trail off, but Dean picks up a bra from the table before I could finish.

"What the...what now?"

That's when Dean motions us to spread out to investigate.

"Alright alright. Guys, everyone needs to take a chill pill and put their guns down. You see? Let's all be grown ups here and have an adult conversation."

That's when the girl comes out from the closet, and she's a werewolf. While Dean tries to shoot her, Sam pulls out his knife an Garth stops Dean from shooting her. Sam ends up cutting her arm and it starts to burn.

"Sam! Sam please...don't hurt her."

"What are you doing?! She's a werewolf!"

"So am I."

"What? You're a werewolf too? How? And why didn't you tell us?" I question.

"I'll explain in a minute. Just let me help her. It's okay baby. Hold it like that."

"What are they doing here Garth?"

"They're friends. I promise."

"They're hunters."

"Alright. We've all gotten off on the wrong foot here. So let's do things right. Guys, this is Bess...my beloved. And Bess, that's Dean. Now, he could start a fight in an empty house, but deep down inside, he's just a big ol' teddy bear. And that's Brooke, now she's not Dean's beloved, but they are together. Nothing really bad about her. She's as sweet as they come. And Sam here...Sam can be a bit insecure at times, but fro good reason. Bless his heart."

"That's sweet. Werewolf?"

"Alright guys look...about six months ago, I was outside Portland, Maine hunting this big bad wolf. I took him down but...he bit me in the process."

"And you didn't call one of us?"

"And tell you what? That I messed up? No, I..I knew the deal. There's no cure, so I accepted my fate. Ate my favorite dish of egg fu yung, watched the world's greatest movie 'Rocky III', and then...was ready to eat a bullet, when Bess here found me."

"And how'd she do that?"

"Smelled him. How else?"

"Yeah. She talked the gun out of my mouth, and as they say, the rest is history. We've been married for four months now."

"You're married?"

"To a werewolf."

"Yes. And my pack has taken him in as one of our own."

"Guys it's not what you think. We don't hurt people."

"No, you just go all wolverine on cattle."

"Yeah."

"At least he's not eating human hearts. Do you have any idea how hard it is for a bitten to control his instincts like Garth does? How well he's doing?"

"Thank you baby."

"Well it's the truth honey bunny."

"Wait. A...a bitten? You're all bitten."

"Not at all. You're either born to it, like I was, or you're bitten, like Garth."

"Hold on. You said you were...you were born a werewolf?"

"Second generation."

"Didn't even know that was possible." I say in awe.

"Garth, can we talk to you for a sec? Alone?"

"Honey, why don't you go find some ointment for that arm? Okay?"

She nods and goes off to do so.

"What the hell?"

"Look, I know you guys want to shoot first and ask questions later, but I checked everything out. This pack is clean. Everything's kosher."

"Right. Uh, minus the part where your wife attacked me."

"Yeah, because you three came busting in here like a house on fire. Guns waving, the jawlines and the hair from you two...it's very intimidating. What'd you expect? Dean, no one wants any trouble. You got my word on that."

"Oh no. That ship has sailed. We're gonna need a hell of a lot more than your word."

"Okay. Okay. Tell you what. You want proof? Come pray with us."

The next day, I decided to go with Dean to see the pack as they're called while same went to the Sheriff's Department.

"You there?"

"Yeah, we just pulled up. Nothing too sketchy yet."

"That's a good thing right?"

"Not betting on it."

"Or are we just that jaded? I mean, maybe Garth's right."

"Well, ain't you a glass half full. Any luck with the cops?"

"Uh, sheriff should be rolling up any second. Be careful."

"Yeah."

As we reach the front of the house, Dean stops as we hear singing coming from inside.

"Oh come on." I scoff, walking up to the front door with Dean following, before I knock.

"You must be Dean and Brooke. I'm Joy, Garth's mother-in-law. Uh, stepmother-in-law. Which I always thought sounded so silly. Please come in. We're just finishing up."

"Why don't you just tell Garth we're here?"

"Dean don't be rude."

"It's alright sweetie. Dean, you have my word...you're safe under my roof. I only ask the same in return. After all...I'm not the one carrying silver."

He gives in and we walk in, standing in the doorway of the living room and watch the whole pack sing.

"Uh...thank you brother Garth. Wonderful accompaniment, as usual. And I'll see the rest of you in the pews...9am, sharp. No stragglers...sister Amelia."

"Oh. Hi." Garth greets us. "So, what'd I tell you? It's all good, right?"

"Everyone here's a wolf?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, not all good."

"Oh come on Dean. You just got to meet them. That's Russ and Joba, Bess' first cousins on sister Joy's side. That's reverend Jim, Bess' dad...leader of the pack and a good man."

"Dean and Brooke isn't it? Welcome. Jim Meyers. Folks usually call me..."

"Reverend Jim. Yeah, I got it."

"Oh. Uh, my bad. Dean's got this crazy fear of germs."

"I understand your apprehension Dean. Hunters and our kin don't have the best history together."

"But I think you'll find we're not much different from you."

"Oh sister, I highly doubt it."

"Why don't we break bread and see?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Dean."

"What?"

We then of course join them for lunch, where Dean and I get cooked steak while the rest of them eat it raw along with animal hearts.

"Now everybody eat up. But make sure you leave room for pie."

"Sister Joy's pies are famous throughout the badger state."

"Mm. Dean loves pie."

"Don't you guys say some sort of a grace or something?"

"We're more spiritual than we are religious. We believe much like the American indians did, that nature and man are one."

"Yeah, really worked out well for them."

"Dean...stop it." I mutter to him under my breath.

"So, why are a bunch of werewolves wearing silver bullets around their neck?"

"Sorry Dean, but we don't use the 'W' word around here. We prefer the term Lycanthrope."

"We?"

"He's entitled to his opinion Garth."

"Many of our kind see themselves as indestructible. This is a constant reminder of how precious our lives truly are."

"Yeah, but it's silver. I mean, doesn't it burn?"

"Yeah it does a bit, but that's kind of the point. It reminds us of our fragility."

"My daughter Bess, was born a Lycanthrope. It was one of the proudest days of my life. Which soon turned tragic...when a hunter killed my wife. Believe me when I tell you, I wanted to make someone pay. Then I looked at Bess, and I realized the road to revenge is a dark and lonely one, which you never get off. And that hole in the pit of your stomach, you never fill it...ever."

"Hey, no, I get it."

"So, I chose to look forward, not backwards. And the minute I did that, the powers that be brought this beautiful, compassionate, amazing woman into my life. And she helped me raise a little baby girl as if Bess were her own."

"I can't take all the credit. Daddy had a hand in it too. He saw your potential."

"Daddy?"

"My father...bless his soul...was the previous reverend of our church, the third generation in our family to serve."

"So you're fourth-generation werewolf?"

"Yes."

"Look, the good reverend Jim and his family are all a little new-agey and hippie-dippy like, but they're clean as a whistle and pillars of our community. Why is the FBI even interested in them?" The sheriff asks Sam.

"I just go where they send me sheriff. Truth be told, I'm more interested in uh...murders and 'X-Files'-y stuff. Anything of that variety around here?"

"No sire. We're just a small town. Not much crime of any to speak of. I'm sorry agent. I wish I could be more help."

"Ah, that's alright. But if you do think of something, give me a call."

"Will do."

Dean however, after lunch, went into the kitchen to investigate, but Russ and Joba were right here after he got out of the fridge.

"Still hungry?"

"Yeah, I was just uh...seeing if you had any beer."

"The sooner you realize that all is good here, the sooner you both can go."

"Don't you two have a chew toy or something to go play with?"

"Hey guys. You mind if I grab a second with Dean here? Why are you being so hard on everyone?"

"Because there's no way that all of this is what it looks like. No way."

"Why not?"

"Come on man. I know you drank the Kool-aid, okay? But come on."

"Look, Amigo...I know this all looks nuts, but I found it. Love and a family? Who cares where that comes from?"

"I do."

"I get it. When I first got here, I couldn't let go either. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. But when it didn't, I had to accept the truth."

"Well, I got another truth for you...we were all left in the dark when you went awol. We didn't know whether you were dead or worse. You should've reached out and sent someone a message."

"And said what Dean? That I was a werewolf? I was embarrassed. I thought it best for everyone if I just stayed away. But that doesn't mean that I didn't think about and miss you, Brooke, Sam and Kevin."

"Kevin's gone."

"What?"

"Gone for good."

"What happened?"

"When he needed me, I wasn't there. That's what."

Dean and I spend the rest of the day there until we meet Sam somewhere off the property, watching over the house.

"Okay Dean, they gave you guys lunch, they gave you pie. Why are we still here?"

"He thinks something is still not right with them." I remark.

"Yeah, you're right. But Garth's good. You want to hit the road, it's square by me."

"Look, I'm just saying, this wouldn't be the first time we came across a friendly monster. Or a...a family of friendly monsters...w-whatever this is." He says before his phone goes off. "Agent Perry. Sheriff. How can I help you? Really? Okay."

He signals for us to get into the car and then we drive to where the sheriff was. When we get out and approach him, we see a dead animal, a deer to be exact.

"Oh jeez."

"Well, you wanted weird Agent. You tell me what tore up that deer. Nothing that runs in these parts."

"Fresh blood."

"Yes it is."

"Still warm. That means it died after we got the call."

"The sheriff's a wolf." I state before we turn around to face him quickly.

"Couldn't just accept that all was good and move on, could you? You have no idea what you've walked into, do you? No matter. You won't be walking out."

Before he could shoot any of us, Sam threw the silver knife into his heart.

"Hey. Look at this." Sam says as he pulls off a silver bullet necklace.

"We've seen that before. Yeah, that is a favorite accessory of the good reverend and his flock."

"Ragnarok?"

"Yeah, that's uh, Thor, Loki, Odin stuff right?"

"Yeah, it's Norse Mythology's end of days. But why is it etched onto a bullet?"

"Who knows."

"Who cares? We got all the answers we need."

"I don't know Dean. I think we need more."

"Oh what? Sheriff Andy Taylor here wasn't good enough for you?"

"Enough to kill Garth? Come on man, let's do this right."

"Alright fine. You two clean this up, grab Garth, lock him up until we figure out what's what. I'm gonna go check out that church."

We do that while Dean goes to the church alone, pulling up and then getting out and walking inside. He turns on a flashlight to see where he was going and also to investigate the church as well. Sam and I go back to Garth's place. When we get in we see the place a mess.

"Garth?"

Dean however reads this whole book on the wolf legends at the church and searches it on the computer, particularly Ragnarok.

"Hey. Did you find the lovebirds?" Dean says as he answers his phone.

"No. Place is a wreck. No Garth, no Bess."

"What, they were taken? Well, that's fan-friggin'-tastic."

"Tell me you got something."

"Well, this uh...Ragnarok, end of days crap...star of the story is a wolf named Fenris, who kills the god of Odin before the world ends."

"Okay. And that helps us how?"

"There are cults that consider Fenris a wolf deity and worship him. They call themselves the Maw of Fenris."

"A cult of werewolves? What do they want?"

"Well, Ragnarok is not just a bible story to these nutjobs. It's an action plan...human extinction, total and complete werewolf domination."

"And...what? This is the...the ground zero for their movement?"

"Freakin' Wisconsin man. Well, time for reverend Jim to go down."

"Yeah. Need any help?"

"No no no. I got it. You two just uh, you find Garth."

"Alright." Sam states.

"So?" I ask.

"Dean's got it all taken care of. We just have to find Garth and Bess."

"If he says so." I nod before we head out of the room.

Sam heads out first, and I see him get knocked out. That's when I see Joba and Russ with a tire iron in hand. I put up a good fight for a decent amount of time, but initially I'm knocked out as well. Just then Dean hears a car door close and he leaves the office of the reverend and tries to sneak up on him.

"It's no use Dean. I can hear your heartbeat. You must've done this countless times, yet you still get nervous."

"Nothing wrong with a little fear. It's what makes us human."

"Fear is not a purely human instinct. Even monsters know fear. I came to work on my sermon."

"Well, why don't you start by preaching to me about the Maw of Fenris? Yeah, that's right. I know all about you and your pack's little plan."

"I assure you, we are planning nothing."

"No? Well then, why did I read about it in your good book?"

"Because generations ago, that hate and misplaced anger was part of our beliefs. But ever since I took over here, I have eradicated it from our congregation."

"Yeah well, apparently some of them didn't get the word...like the good heriff, who just tried to off me, my girlfriend and my brother."

"Sheriff Pat?"

"Let me see your bullet. Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"Ragnarok."

"What?!"

"It was etched into the Sheriff's bullet."

"That's impossible. The Maw is dead."

"Yeah, well tell that to Garth and your daughter, who are missing."

"No."

After Sam and I were knocked out, we were brought back to the house and tied up in the barn, alongside Bess and Garth.

"Sam. Brooke."

"What are you two doing? Russ? Joba?! Mom? What is going on?"

She just smirks and slaps her across the face.

"Hey!"

"First off, I'm not your mother."

"You leave her alone! You hear me?! You want to hurt somebody, you hurt me!" Garth exclaims.

"Oh, that is so sweet. But I am going to hurt her. And him, and her too. But especially you, for bringing these hunters here. I'm gonna hurt all of you."

"I'm sorry."

"Sam...Brooke...one of you pick up, damn it!" Dean says after he tries to call both of us, but we don't answer.

"Please...don't do this. Not to Bess. She's your daughter..."

"How many times do I have to say this? Stepdaughter! I'm the last of my bloodline, thanks to you and your kind out there."

"They're awake."

"Well, don't you two just look good enough to eat."

"Why are you doing this? I mean, us, I can understand, but these people are your family. Your pack."

"Exactly. We're hunters, they're not."

"Last winter, my little brother Charlie, was killed by a hunter. My husband counseled patience, restraint. Just as when he took over our beloved church, he preached a new direction...Lycanthropes and man would co-exist. Peace was more important than dominance. I tried so hard to make his way work...to be a preacher's wife. But then...Charlie was murdered. and I couldn't help remembering my Daddy's sermons. And by golly, turns out he was right. As long as there is a man, there can be no peace. Because man destroys. And I for one, am sick of it."

In the meantime, Dean had gotten back to the house and snuck up on one of the brothers and killed him.

"I get it now." Sam scoffs. "Why co-exist when you can rule?"

"Bingo. But my husband doesn't see it that way. See, he was bitten, not born into it, like I was. He still holds on to his humanity. Which is why I am so pleased it will be his claws that start Ragnarok, not mine. Your brother, his girlfriend and you coming here was a blessing from Fenris above. The three of you cornered Garth here, and then when Bess came running in to see what the fuss was about...you killed her."

"No!"

"Here. Silver to the heart."

"You're gonna frame us." I state.

"Frame their murders on us." Sam adds.

"My husband turned his cheek once. I don't think he can do it again."

"Hey! Get away from her!"

"Killing you gives me no joy, but Ragnarok...it's bigger than all of us."

"You're sick."

She then steps back to shoot Bess, but Sam is able to kick the gun out of her hand.

"You're just dying for me to get my claws dirty, aren't you?"

Dean at that time comes in, but is attacked by the other brother, but that brother soon gets killed as well, while Sam and I are trying to get out of the ties.

"Wearing Russ' coat to hide your scent...smart."

"Oh I'm full of surprises."

"As am I."

She goes for her gun and Dean goes for his, and he gets the shot first, killing her. Dean then comes over and gets Sam free and then myself.

"You okay?"

"I'll be fine." I nod as he gets me free.

We then help and get Garth and Bess free before leaving the barn and going into the house where the reverend meets us after coming back from the church. We spend the night to make sure everyone was okay, before getting ready to leave the next day.

"Be good. Hear me?"

"I will. Thanks Sam." Garth nods and they hug before Sam leaves. "Sorry for getting you into this mess." He adds, to me.

"It's alright. It's part of the job." I say before I get a hug as well, and I head out myself.

"How's he doing?"

"He's taking it pretty hard. Feels like he should have seen the signs earlier."

"Yeah well, maybe you were right. Yeah, he seems like a good man...considering."

"Yeah. And you were right. Everything around here wasn't copacetic. I screwed up again. First Kevin, now this."

"Hey. Kevin? That's on me. I'm the one that pulled him into all this. I'm the one that should've been there to protect him."

"Well...I guess there's enough of that blame to go around then. Dean."

"Yeah?"

"Um...I know this may sound a little crazy, but...maybe I could come back and hunt with you. I mean, with my werewolf mojo, we'd have an advantage."

"Yeah, look Garth..."

"No Dean. I want to make this right. I never should've left you guys, especially Kevin. Kevin was my friend. Friends don't do that."

"Well hey, you said it...you know, who cares where happiness comes from? Look, we'e all a little weird, we're all a little wacky...some more than others...but if it works, it works. You got something here. Okay? Even though they are werewolves. Lycanthropes...whatever. Don't let that go. Okay? You'll never forgive yourself. Besides, somebody's got to live to tell this damn story someday, and who better than you? Now shut up and come here."

"Really?"

"Hurry up before I change my mind." He says before they hug.

After that, Dean leaves and he gets into the car where Sam and I were waiting. From there we head back to Garth's apartment complex where Sam and I had left his car last night since we were attacked by Russ and Joba.

"I'll send you that postcard."

"Yeah."

Sam gets out of the car and Dean sits there for a bit before getting out himself. I choose to stay in the car, while he has a talk with Sam, brother to brother.

"Hey. Uh, listen, that night that, uh...you know when we went out...our separate ways..."

"You mean the night you split?"

"Fair enough. I was messed up man. Kevin was dead and I...I don't know what I was."

"Okay."

"Hell, maybe I still don't. But uh...I know I took a piece of you in the process, and for that...somebody changed the playbook man, you know? It's like what...what...what's right is wrong and what's wrong is more wrong and...I just know that when...when we rode together..."

"We split the crappiness."

"Yeah. So..."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"But something's broken here Dean."

"I'm not saying that it's not. I...I just think maybe we need to put a couple W's on the board and we get past all this."

"I don't think so. No, I-I wish, but...we don't...see things the same way anymore...our roles in this whole thing. Back in that church, talking me out of boarding up Hell? Or...or tricking me into letting Gadreel possess me? I can't trust you...not the way I thought I could, not the way I should be able to."

"Okay look. Whatever happened...we are family, okay?"

"You say that like it's some sort of cure-all, like it can change the fact that everything that has ever gone wrong between us has been because we're family."

"So, what...we're not family now?"

"I'm saying, you want to work? Let' work. If you want to be brothers...those are my terms."

Dean just nods and Sam comes and gets back into the car and so does Dean. Then we pull out of the apartment parking lot and get on our way.


	14. The Purge

**Stillwater, Minnesota**

There's a group of people at a hot dog eating contest, where the winner gets a huge cash prize. It came down to the last 10 seconds, where there was a winner. An a fight broke up between two of the contestants about cheating and whatnot. Later that night, er went back to his car to leave. Just then there was a thud and he looked out the window to see what it is, but ended up being nothing. But then all of a sudden, something attacked him and sucked the fat from his body and he became deadly thin. Whatever did that, quickly left the car.

**Men of Letter's Bunker**

"Hey."

"Hey."

"You go to bed last night?"

"What? Uh, no. No, 'Rudy' was on and then uh...'unforgiven', and then I was too jacked to sleep so...research."

"Gadreel?"

"And Metatron and the mark of Cain and...crickets. I did find us a case though."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, was a strange death in Stillwater, Minnesota. A competitive eater died after a hot dog-eating contest."

"So, what? Death by tube steak?"

"If only. He got attacked in his car, but uh, get this...he shrunk from 300 pounds to 90 pounds."

"Witchcraft?"

"Or a heavy duty laxative. You game?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Looks like it's a whore's bath for me. I'll be ready in five."

"You sure you're okay Dean?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"'Cause...I don't know you...this isn't about what I said the other day is it?"

"Oh, about that we're not supposed to be brothers? No, don't flatter yourself. I don't break that easy."

"Oh good, 'cause I was just being honest."

"Oh yeah. No, I got that loud and clear."

"So, much talk with Sam?" I ask Dean when he gets back to the bedroom.

"Not really. Same since a few days ago. We got a case by the way, might want to get changed. I'm just gonna go shower and then get changed."

"Alright, well I may need a shower too and it saves time and water if we take one together. And since we have a case to do, this will strictly be a normal shower. Afterall, with what happened last night." I smirk.

"True, come on then."

"Thanks for your patience, agents. Coroner's report finally came in."

"Alright, thank you. Alright, let's see. Did Wayne McNut really weight 300 pounds just moments before time of death?"

"316 to be exact."

"And the official cause of death?"

"Cardiac arrest. But between you and me, that's just a guess. The vic suffered massive organ damage. Here you go Jenny. Ruptured spleen, pierced liver, collapsed lung. Looked like everything was just sucked right out of him."

"Like he'd been hoovered?"

"Yeah. You know, I got to be honest..hmm?" She says, and motions to he donuts.

"No thanks." I decline, but Dean goes right ahead for one.

"We're stumped. This type of thing just doesn't happen in Stillwater."

"First time for everything I suppose." I remark.

"Now, did Wayne have any enemies?"

"Hmm. More like an unfriendly rivalry. A guy named 'Slim Jim' Morgan. Like Wayne, he was pretty well known in the competitive eatin' circuit."

"Competitive eating circuit? Is that a big thing out here?"

"Oh yeah. You betcha. Folks take it real seriously. Train for months. Eat all sorts of wackadoo stuff, you know, like uh...baked beans, buff wings, butter."

"Butter?"

"Yeah. Sometimes deep fried."

"Hm."

"Oh gross." I mumble to myself.

"This year alone, Wayne won the Butter Bowl, the Wing Ding, and Shrimptasia. Anyhoo, point being, Wayne McNut was the only one Slim Jim couldn't beat in the whole Great Lakes region."

"So is he a suspect?"

"We checked him out, but Slim Jim was in the Hot Doggery at the time of Wayne's death, and we got 15 witnesses to prove it."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

After leaving the police station, we headed over to where this Slim Jim guy lived, and when we got there, he gladly invited us in and before we could ask about him eating the lettuce, he answered us.

"Training. When I gear up for a competition, I eat lettuce...stretches the stomach."

"Yet another reason to stay away from salads." Dean remarks.

"How well did you know Wayne McNut?"

"Well, well enough to know he was a weasel and a cheat. I hate to say it, but uh, karma's a bitch."

"This is interesting." Dean says about the shelf of relics and such.

"Oh yeah, it is. What is all this?" I ask.

"Mala's good luck charms."

"And Mala is...?"

"My old lady."

"Does she happen to be superstitious?" I ask.

"Yeah. She's romanichal."

"Romanichal?"

"Gypsy." Sam states.

"Ohhh."

"But don't call her that. She says it's reductive. But I think it's a compliment. I mean, gypsies are all the rage on TV...'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding', 'Gyspy Sisters'...'Keeping Up With The Kardashians'."

"Um...you mind if I use your bathroom?"

"Yeah, go ahead. But use the one upstairs at the back. Mala's taking a shower in ours."

"Right."

"Did you really lose the 'Wiener Winner' by one dog?"

"Yeah."

"Ooh harsh."

Sam in the meantime had gone upstairs to the bedroom of course, to do some snooping around. And he's sure that it's their bedroom because he can hear water running from the shower. That's when he notices a bag on the table next to a hairbrush, and he takes it quickly before she comes out of the bathroom.

"And what are we talking'? Six inches? Foot-long?"

"Look agent. Am I a suspect here or what? 'Cause unless you got a warrant..."

"You uh, ready to go?" Sam asks as he comes back.

"Yeah. Uh, Mr. Morgan, thank you for your time. If you remember anything else, this is our number and where we're staying locally." Dean says before he follows Sam and I out.

That night, we sat down and took a look at the contents of the bag that Sam found and confiscated, more like stole from the bedroom.

"Alright, so we got what appears to be Wayne McNut's hair and...a bag full of weird."

"In Romanichal culture, the pouch is called a putsi bag. It's used for hexes."

"Okay, so what? Mala's putting hexes on hubby's competition?"

"Sure sounds like it." I nod.

"So, what do we got ourselves? A 'Thinner' sitch here?"

"Slim Jim might not even know."

"Hm."

Just then there was a knock on the door. We all give each other weird looks and Dean gets up, gun in hand as he looks through the peephole to see who it was.

"Hi."

"I believe you have something of mine."

"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Save the crap. I know you have Putsi Bag."

"Let her in." I remark, and Dean does so.

We then get to explaining about how we think she used the Putsi Bag to put a curse on Wayne to kill him, once she was settled in and sitting down.

"Kill Wayne? I loved him!"

"So...you were..."

"Yes. Okay? We were having an affair...for years actually."

"I don't mean to be rude, uh...but how is it that Wayne McNut is your type? I mean, you're married to a man who's barely a buck...wet."

"What can I say? Sometimes it's nice to feel a little give."

"Oh. Yeah, I get that...a little extra cushion for the uh..."

"Help us understand something. If you loved Wayne, why did you put a curse on him?"

"It wasn't a curse. Putsi bags are also used for blessings. I wanted Wayne to win. Plan was, take the prize money, get a quickie divorce, and then tie the knot in Orlando. Wayne used to call me his 'Princess Jasmine'."

"Awww, that's sweet." I gush.

But then things go silent as she goes silent. Meanwhile in a gym, there was this woman on one of the machines exercising while she was looking at a wedding magazine. The machine beeps and she goes over and weighs herself.

"I gained weight? How is that even possible?"

There's a clattering sound of weights which she hears and she steps off the scale of course to see if anyone was there.

"Hello? Anyone there? Let's try this again."

She steps onto the scale again and it was showing more weight gain. But then she was hit from behind and then sucked down from 180 to about 74 pounds, and she of course died almost instantly afterwards. The next morning, of course we heard about it, so we made our way over to check out the scene.

"Oh, poor woman." I cringe.

"Any idea what the vic weighed beforehand?"

"165."

"So...180. Known fact...all women lie about their weight and age."

"Except for this woman right here. Thanks agent."

"Need anything else, agents?"

"Yeah, is Sheriff Hanscum around?"

"Sorry. She's out for the rest of the week. Hell of a time to take a vacation right?"

"Okay, so we have two victims, with seemingly nothing in common except uh..."

"A love for eclairs. Check this out." Dean motions to the body, lifts the sheet and shows us this mark on the body.

"What is that? A birthmark?"

"Huh. So the weight had to come off somehow right? What if it's a suction mark?"

"A suction mark?"

"Something sucked the fat out of her? Gross."

"Changeling?"

"Yeah, but changelings don't take over kids. Neither of the vics had any."

"And we don't know if Wayne McNut had a suction mark."

"Unless we missed it."

"Yeah. Well, we should uh, split up. Two of us should hit the morgue. The other should stay here and question the staff."

"I'll stay."

"Ain't gonna happen."

"Why?"

"Because you're weird around girls."

"What does that mean, weird?"

"You're awkward. You know, weird...Sam weird. Sorry man. I'm just being honest." Dean says before trying to head off to talk to the girl that just came in.

"Uh no. I've got this. You two go check out the morgue, I'll go talk to her. And before you object to that, I'm a woman, I can talk to her about more things than you. Have fun in the morgue. I'll just get a cab back" I stop him, kissing him quick, before walking off in the direction he was going.

"So, you were scheduled to close the gym last night?" I ask.

"Yeah, but I didn't exactly lock up."

"Why not?"

"Carol was still working out, and I had a date. I didn't want to shortchange her, you know? I mean, the poor girl has been working so hard to lose weight for her wedding. I slipped her the key, and I told her to lock up on her way out."

We then look over to see them wheeling her dead body out on a stretcher.

"Oh, it's all my fault."

She then reaches over to grab a tissue and that's when I noticed part of a suction mark, like what was on Carol's body.

"It's not your fault at all. It was just an accident. But, I couldn't help but notice. What's that mark on your back?"

"Oh uh...it's nothing."

"Hey guys, find anything at the morgue?" I ask when Dean and Sam come back into the room, since I had gotten a cab back to the motel.

"Yeah. So, Wayne was banged up pretty bad. But on the back of his neck, just below his hairline...suction mark...identical to Carol's."

"So they both had marks, just like the trainer at Rollz."

"But she was skinny...and alive."

"And just recently lost a ton of weight. I asked her about the mark, she got all embarrassed about it. But I did some research, and it turns out that she took a couple of days off for herself last month and went here." I turn my computer screen to show them.

"Canyon Valley?"

"Yup." I nod, playing the video about it.

"How far away is that place?"

"A couple hours."

"Well, let's change and get going then." Dean states.

"Won't object to that." I nod, closing the laptop and then getting up to get changed.

Once we all were changed, we headed off to Canyon Valley.

"We were really, really moved by the online testimonials."

"Oh yeah. That was some powerful stuff."

"And you three are all certified personal trainers?"

"Yeah, personal training brothers."

"And a personal training girlfriend." I nod, wrapping an arm around Dean's shoulders.

"And you're certified in..."

"Makin' people sweat! Yeah. Kickin' ass and takin' names! That's how we do!"

"Uh..."

"Uh, to clarify, uh, what my brother's trying to say is, w-w-we all have a passion for-for fitness and helping people."

"Oh, us too. In fact, that's how we first met."

"I was Maritza's first client back in Peru. I was on a student visa...homesick, stressed, eating my troubles away."

"Oh, he was the size of a casa."

"Oh, it's true! I was one empanada away from a heart attack. But then this...gorgeous godsend made me the lean, mean, fighting machine I am today. But I digress. now, the good news is, we are hiring. The bad news is, there's only two trainer positions available. How do you feel about working in another department?" He asks Dean.

"Huh?"

Dean ended up getting a kitchen job, while Sam and I got the trainer positions, both for the same Yoga class.

"Nice shorts." Dean says to Sam sarcastically, as we both walk in to return our plates from lunch. "But they look great on you." He adds, to me.

"Flatterer."

"Nice hairnet." Sam remarks, and I can't help but snicker.

"Yeah, why do I got to be the lunch lady?"

"Since when have you ever complained about being around food?"

"Okay, this is not food."

"Hey, new guy. Quit flirtin' with the trainers and keep scoopin' huh?"

"It's alright. Our uh..Ashtanga Yoga Class starts in five minutes."

"How the hell do you know anything about yoga?"

"You're not the only one who's ever dated someone bendy." Sam remarks, before he starts to walk off.

I give Dean a quick kiss before I head off as well.

"Hey, you have any oatmeal?" A guy asks Dean.

"Yeah, I wish. No, but we have uh, something that's tofu over there. I...what is that? It's a pancake. It's tofu."

In the meantime, another client, the sheriff was getting a treatment done.

"I feel like a baby asking this, but...will the treatment hurt?"

"Not at all. The only drawback of cupping is, it leaves a suction mark. It can bruise a little."

"Cupping?"

"Yes, ancient Chinese secret. All the celebrities do it. It draws out toxins, boosts metabolism. You'll feel good."

"Who knew? Oh, excuse me. It's just so relaxing in here." She says after yawning.

"It's the aromatherapy. The lavender really packs a punch."

"Huh. Ahh. Geez. That's wa-a-a-rm." She says as the cups get placed on her skin after being heated by some fire, and soon she's dozed off.

After a few cups are placed on her back, the fire is blown out and then Maritza leans over and sucks the fat out of the sheriff's body. Since then, Dean had returned to the kitchen, preparing the food and such, but he wasn't actually preparing the food, he was on his phone.

"Flojo. You got time to lean, you got time to clean, huh?"

"I'm starving. What do we get to eat?"

"Same as the clients."

"They expect us to eat this rabbit food?"

"It's not rabbit food. It's super food."

"I'm not eating it."

"At Canyon Valley, we're supposed to lead by example."

"This is leading by example?"

"It's not for us, stupido. It's for the clients. They're allowed to have pudding on their spa day. It's like a...a last hurrah before the real work starts. Get to work. Hey Frank? We need to order more asparagus."

Dean then starts to put the pudding in the bowls provided. He then tasted some and took a container for himself.

"What do you know? Looks like it's my 'spa day' too."

In the meantime, Sam and I were busy with our yoga class.

"Okay, good job guys. Go to uh...Downward Dog. Hold for five minutes."

"Five minutes?" One of the clients asks. "It's usually 30 seconds."

"Forgive him, it's been a long day. 30 seconds."

"Right. Uh, we'll just come around and make sure everybody's form is okay, make sure you're uh, keeping your cores tight. Uh, good job. Great. Straighten that back out."

But while we were checking everybody, we say suction marks. Sam and I gave each other a concerned look. Dean however, was in the storeroom, taking a break, with the container of pudding he had. He goes to get up, but can't, feeling a little dizzy. He does get to his feet, only to fall back down. After the class, Sam and I went out to tell everyone what a good job they did today.

"Well done today! Good job! Good work guys! Good work! Namaste! Okay. Good work. See you all soon. Good job."

Sam then turns and gets my attention and I turn to see the sheriff getting rolled up in a wheelchair.

"How was class?"

"It was, uh...great."

"Oh yeah, it went great." I nod.

"Agent Frehley? Agent Simms? What are you doing here?"

"Agents?"

"Uh, I-I-I don't know. She must be pretty out of it huh? Oh, excuse me." He says when his phone goes off. "Sorry. I got to get this. Yeah? Have a good one."

"Sammy?"

"Dean?"

"Dean? Why is he.."

"What's wrong with you?"

"I need your help."

"Where are you? Dean?!"

"Sweet potatoes."

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"I don't know. But we gotta find Dean."

We then hurry to the kitchen, not finding him there. But we find the area down to the storeroom and head down there, which leads to a hallway. We call out for Dean before we hear him reply, from the storage room.

"Oh my god, Dean."

"Hey! Hey! Wake up!"

"What took you two so long?"

"What happened Dean?" I question.

"I was drugged."

"Dru..what?"

"Pudding. It was supposed to be for the clients, but I couldn't resist."

"What, salted caramel?"

"Yeah man. The best of both worlds...salty and sweet."

"Right. Uh...Brooke, you stay here with him." Sam say as he leaves the room.

"No, no. We're coming with you." Dean protests, trying to get up, but he can't.

"Dean, you can barely move. Just stay."

Sam made his way back to the kitchen and that's where he found the chef, stepping up and confronting him.

"Hey. Did you make the pudding?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Whether you liked it or not."

"What's in it?" Sam asks after he has him up against the wall.

"Relax Jack LaLanne. It's low-cal. Nonfat milk, sea salt..."

"No, no. Not the ingredients. The something extra."

"Chill man. Supplements okay?"

"Come on Sam, where are you?" I say to myself as Sam seems to be taking forever.

But it wasn't too much longer where the door opened and Sam walked in, with a bottle of something.

"Whats that?"

"What was put in the pudding. Supplements."

"What kind of supplements?"

"Here. Hey. To boost metabolism, per Larry and Maritza."

"These aren't 'supplements'. They're roofies."

"What? How do you know what roofies look like?"

"How do you not know? You think I want to end up in a hotel bathtub with my kidney carved out? In Chechnya?"

"Highly doubt you'd get roofied Dean, but okay." I remark.

"Did you two find anything out in the yoga?"

"As a matter of fact we did."

"Yeah. 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'. Every single person in class has one of those freaky ass suction marks."

"What the hell's goin' on here?"

"Who knows."

"But there's some other news. After our yoga class, guess who we ran into? The sheriff."

"The sheriff? Thought she was on vacation?"

"Apparently she is, a spa vacation."

"So once you're feeling better, we can go find her and question her." I add.

"You know, I didn't mean to bail on you fellas, but I've been waiting over six months to get into Canyon Valley. And let me tell ya, it was worth it. I already lost 10 pounds!"

"In...in one day?"

"No offense, Sheriff...'cause you look great...um, but aren't you the least bit curious as to how you dropped 10 in a day?"

"Well to tell you the truth agent, I don't give a flyin' fudge. My husband, Doug, left me last year. 'Cause he said I loved cookie dough milkshakes more than him."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, Doug's a dick. You deserve better."

"Absolutely." I nod.

"Thanks. But he was right. That was a dark time for me. Whoever said you eat your pain? Not me. I guzzled it. Anyhoo...I guess I just wanted to feel pretty again. And Canyon Valley did that. Only question is...what are you doing here?"

"We're uh, uh...we're undercover."

"Yeah. Sort of got that."

"We think that there's a connection between Canyon Valley and the murders in town."

"What kind of connection?"

"Suction marks."

"You mean like this?" She questions and shows us the suction mark on her back.

"Where did that come from?" I ask.

"My spa treatment. Cupping."

"Cupping?"

"Yeah. You know, I thought it was gonna hurt, but honestly, I snoozed through the whole thing. By the time I woke up, I was down two dress sizes."

"Before the cupping, did you eat any pudding?"

"Darn tootin'. Licked the bowl clean."

"Donna, do you remember who did this treatment?"

"Oh yeah. You betcha."

"Evelyn, you are looking great. Just 10 more pounds till your goal weight. Do you mind f I borrow my wife for a sec? Looking good ladies. The new guys aren't personal trainers."

"What are you talking about?"

"I did a little digging. I found this in their glove compartment."

"They're feds?"

"Worse. They're hunters."

"Why are hunters here?"

"Maybe because of this?" He shows her the article about Wayne.

"Oh my god. Do you think..."

"I do."

"What are we going to do?"

"Relax. I'll take care of it. Just get rid of the evidence."

Since finding out about the sheriff getting the same suction mark and her telling us that Maritza was the one who gave her the spa treatment, we went on full hunter investigation mode, searching for her. This time Dean and I stuck together, while Sam went on his own. Sam went into the treatment room investigating, finding nothing. Maritza however went to where the fats were store that were sucked out and started to dispose of them, before Dean and I caught her.

"Okay, I'm no health nut, but that...is just wrong."

She put it back into the fridge and we were able to tie her up so we could get some answers out of her.

"Tied up tight." I declare.

"Alright, talk."

"This isn't what you think. I'm not a killer."

"Well then, what are you?"

"I'm a pishtaco."

"A fish taco?"

"A pishtaco. It means 'Peruvian Fat Sucker'."

"Never heard of it. So what, you're like vamps with a sweet tooth for cellulite?"

"Vampires kill. We're just...parasites."

"Oh well, in that case..."

"Look, I would never hurt anybody! Okay, this...this is why Larry and I started Canyon Valley. We could help people lose weight. And I could feed. It was a win-win."

"Yeah, except for the two you dysoned to death."

"That wasn't me."

"Well, then who was it?"

"Alonso."

"The dude from the cafeteria?"

"The one we saw working with you earlier today after lunch?" I question Dean.

"He's my brother."

Larry however bursts into the kitchen to confront Alonso, but finds him in the dining area.

"I knew you were a lost cause. Unlike your sister, you're weak."

"Good to see you too Larry."

"How could you do this to her? To us?"

"Do what?"

"This." He holds up the death article.

"Oh, that."

"Oh yeah, that. You know what that means? Huh? Now there are hunters here!"

"It's your fault Blanco! If you didn't starve me, maybe..."

"Listen, freak! Your sister and I spent years building this operation. And if you think I'm gonna let your gluttony destroy it, you got another thing coming. I want you out. Now."

"I'm not leaving Maritza."

"Well I got news for you, pal. She doesn't want you here either. Either you leave...or I'll make you."

While Sam was walking through the halls, he heard a man scream and then some clattering. He went into the kitchen to investigate and saw Larry dead on the floor. Sam found out where we were and had informed Maritza that Larry was killed by Alonso, and she was devastated.

"I brought Alonso here from Peru. To show him a better way, a more civilized way. One where we weren't monsters. That the secret to coexisting with humans was just...eating enough to get by."

"Let me guess. Alonso wasn't a big fan of portion control, was he?"

"No. During a routine treatment, he almost killed a client. He sucked out too much fat. I demoted him to kitchen duty...no human contact, jus fat from a jar. But he said the more I deprived him, the hungrier he got. And now three people are dead. My husband..."

"Where's Alonso right now?"

"The...the basement? That's...that's where he spends most of his time now."

"What about her?"

"What do you mean what about her? She's clearly innocent."

"Until we figure out which side she's on, she stays put."

"I am on your side."

"Okay. Then how do we kill him?"

After some hesitation, she tells us how to kill him, and that's to cut off the sucker when he tried to feed. So from there, I let her go and we go out to find Alonso, starting in the kitchen. Sam finds a broken plate, and we see the door to the basement open. we grab flashlights and head down, seeing blood along the way. Coming to a hallway, we decide to split up. Dean and I go one way, while Sam goes the other way. We keep trying doors to see which one would be open and which room he would be in. It wasn't until we came to a private room and walked in, wary of our surroundings. We see the jars of fat, knowing that's where Alonso had been, since we also find a bed. Sam however, in the room he's in, follows a trail of blood and finds the chef dead as well, that making 4 people dead due to Alonso. He then sees a bloody footprint and follows that, searching for Alsono. He opens a closet just to be sure and he finds nothing but jackets. He turns around, just for the wardrobe to fall on him and Alonso being right there, the one who made it fall.

"You, Stupido and his his little girlfriend have no chance. The fat makes us stronger."

"Your sister didn't mention that when she ratted you out."

"You're lying!" Alonso exclaims as he extracts the sucker, but Sam knocks him away and gets out from under the wardrobe.

Sam grabs his knife and turns towards him only for him to move away quickly beforehand.

"I guess after you killed her husband...you were too monstrous, even for her."

He then catches Sam off guard and makes him drop the knife. They get into a brawl and Sam grabs the knife, only for Alonso to kick him through a wall. He kicks the knife out of his hand and goes to kill him, but Dean and I show up after hearing all the noise and he grabs the sucker and cuts it off, instantly killing Alonso.

"You okay Sam?"

"I'm fine." He nods.

The following day, the police had shown up and everything was taken care of.

"We'll let you know if we need any other information. Thanks for everything. Appreciate it."

"Hey."

"What did you tell the sheriff?"

"The usual...psycho killer on the loose. They uh...usually buy it."

"I lost my whole family today."

"I'm so sorry. I..."

"Can we steal you a sec?" Dean asks when we appear in the doorway.

"Once this place clears out, we're gonna make this a family affair."

"Wait, Dean. We're not gonna kill Maritza."

"Thank you. That's what I told him."

"She's a monster."

"Yeah, who saved our asses."

"You said that you wanted to keep things strictly business. Well, last I checked we were in the business of killing monsters."

"I wanted to keep things strictly business between us. But I still have a heart. What if I had crossed paths with a hunter back when I was possessed by Gadreel? I could've ended up dead too. Would I have deserved that? Would I have deserved to die?"

"So, one way ticket to Peru?"

We all seem to agree on that and once that was taken care of, we headed back to the bunker. A few days later, Dean was in the kitchen, Sam was doing something else and I went to bed early.

"I'm hitting it." Sam says as he comes into the kitchen where Dean was.

"Yeah. Hey."

"Yeah?"

"About what you said the other day."

"I thought it didn't bother you."

"You know Sam, I saved your hide back there. And I saved your hide at that church...and the hospital. I may not think things all the way through. Okay? But what I do, I do because it's the right thing. I'd do it again."

"And that...is the problem. Y-you think you're my savior, m-my brother, the hero. You swoop in, and even when you mess up, you think what you're doing is worth it because you've convinced yourself you're doing more good than bad...but you're not. I mean Kevin's dead, Crowley's in the wind, uh...we're no closer to beating this angel thing. Please tell me, what is the upside of me being alive?"

"You kidding me? You and me...and Brooke...fighting the good fight together."

"Don't bring Brooke into this Dean, when it's about you and I. But, just once be honest with me. You didn't save me for me. You did it for you."

"What are you talkin' about?"

"I was ready to die. I was ready. I should have died, but you, you didn't want to be alone. You didn't want to be without me at least. And that's what all this boils down to. You can't stand the thought of being alone."

"Alright."

"I'll give you this much. You are certainly willing to do the sacrificing as long as you're not the one being hurt."

"Alright, you want to be honest? If the situation were reversed and I was dying, you'd do the same thing."

"No Dean. I wouldn't. Sam circumstances...I wouldn't. I'm gonna get to bed."


	15. Captives

So, all was quiet in the bunker, since Dean and Sam had a small fight. It was a little too quiet to be exact. Lights started flickering, there was whispering and voices. Dean was laying next to me on the bed listening to music, but I was awake reading a book and I started noticing the lights flickering and I heard the whispering. But before I could get Dean's attention, his eyes snapped open.

"Sam!"

"Dean?" He calls out, turning the lights on to see them flickering.

He got to our room to see us gone fro the bedroom.

"Dean? Brooke?"

He then goes out into the library, seeing a chair spinning around. He grabs one of the swords and gets ready to strike when he can as he walks through the library. He hears a whisper and turns around, seeing nothing. But little did he know, something was coming up behind him. He turns around just in time, but before he could swing at it, it was shot and disappeared for now, Dean and I being the ones who shot it.

"So..."

"Yep. Bunker's haunted."

With that being said, we began our day. We all got dressed and Sam and I were in the kitchen putting together salt rounds.

"I just find it weird how all of a sudden the bunker's haunted. I mean we've been here for how long? And we haven't had anything happen."

"Exactly. How is this possible? I thought you said this was the safest place on the planet." Dean remarks.

"Look, I know nothing got in. I mean, the bunker is warded and sigiled from top to bottom. There's no way something came in from the outside."

"Okay, so whoever's haunting us, died here."

"Makes sense." I nod.

"What, dead man of letters?"

"Possibly?"

"No, that doesn't track. I mean, we're the first people to occupy this place in 50 years. Why would a ghost wait so long to get its spook on?"

"Must've been a more recent death."

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Cause you and I burned his body ourselves, okay? It's not him." He says about me and him.

"Okay, so you cremated him. We cremated Bobby too, and he came back."

"Guys, I'm telling you...this ghost, it's not Kevin."

Just then the coffee machine starts beeping at a rapid pace and the numbers on the clock start jumping around, then it just stops.

"Kevin?" Sam asks and a mug shatters.

"Ooh."

"I would say that it's Kevin."

"We commit her body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, with a clear and certain hope of resurrection into the eternal life, according to the mighty working, whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself. In nomine patris, et filii, et spiritus sancti. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, lord." A preacher speaks at a funeral, before one of the people standing around the grave walks away, only to be stopped by Castiel.

"What are you doing here?"

"Please, she was my friend!"

"Who? The dead human or the angel who was killed while possessing her?"

"The angel. Rebecca?"

"Rebecca had a lot of friends. Friends like Metatron. Where is he?!"

"You're looking in the wrong place. Rebecca and Metatron were friends. That was a long time ago. Had no contact since the fall. Naomi, Metatron, heavenly battles, politics...she gave it up. All of it. Rebecca taught us the angels have lost touch with our true mission."

"What do you mean by 'us'?"

"The penitents. Her followers."

"Another faction."

"Not like the others. We don't make war. We live humbly among these humans. Or we did. He killed all the others. And he killed her."

"Who did?"

"Who else? The monster. Bartholomew."

In the meantime, we've since unplugged the coffee machine to see if Kevin would get through to us through that. Sam and I were sitting in the kitchen, just staring at the thing to see if it would start going off again. But nothing really happened.

"Anything?" Dean asks, coming back in.

"Eh, a couple of dings. A little EMF activity, but mostly...silence."

"So, he's back in the veil."

"I guess so. Fumbling to break through. I mean, you got to figure it took Bobby months to make contact."

"Kevin's only...he's new at this."

"Right. Alright, you're up."

"I'll stay here, it's fine. Got nothing better to do anyway." I remark as Sam's the only one to leave the kitchen. "Want anything to drink?" I ask Dean as he sits and I stand.

"Nah, I'm good." He says as he turns the coffee machine towards him and stares at it. "Kevin? Kevin. Alright, I can't do this. Coffee-buzzing, bump-in-the-night crap. I got serious things to say to you, okay? And I'm not gonna say them to this. Kevin, I'm sorry. You did not choose this life. You busted your ass, you lost everything, everyone you've loved...and your reward? Getting killed...on my watch. If I...it was on me. It was my fault, and...and there's nothing I can do to make that right. I am so sorry."

"Uh Dean?"

"Hey, did you see that?" Sam asks, coming back.

"I did. The lights flickered."

Just then we see something forming, and then we hear Kevin's voice.

"No, this is not happening. Didn't spend months struggling to break through the veil just to get stuck listening to Dean Winchester having a self-pity session. Didn't hear enough of those when I was alive."

"Kevin?"

"You can see me?"

"Hey, take it easy Kevin. You might not hold this form for too long okay? I-it takes a while."

"Then we should talk fast."

"Wait, wait, wait. Why aren't you in...in Heaven? I mean, if anybody deserves an express pass to paradise..."

"I couldn't. I can't. No one can. Heaven's closed for business. Everyone who's died since the angels fell are just stuck inside the veil, waiting. And it's bad in here. Like DMV-ling-times-infinity bad."

"Well, I mean, what can we do?"

"I need a favor...big one."

"Okay."

"What's the favor?" I ask.

"Find my mother."

"Kevin."

"Crowley only told you she was alive to mess with you."

"I'm not going off his word. Alright? I have my own sources. It's crowded in the veil. All of us stuck near the sites of our deaths. But I've been able to pass messages spirit to spirit. I made contact with another new arrival. She said she saw my mom just a week ago, alive."

"Okay, this...this spirit that you're playing ghost telephone with, I mean, what do you even know about her?"

"Her name's Candy. Says she's in a forest in Wichita."

"Candy?"

"That's...that's it? That's all you got?"

"Long distance communication within the veil...it's not ideal. That's why I need you to go there, summon her, see what else she knows. You say you want to make it right? This is how." Kevin states before he disappears.

Cas in the meantime is walking through the graveyard, until he's stopped by two other angels with blades of their own.

"Where did your friend go in such a hurry?"

"You're too late. He's gone."

"Castiel?"

"Our boss has been looking for you."

Wichita, Kansas

The three of us left the bunker with some supplies that would get us through the night until we could contact Candy. We found the forest and parked, walking into it.

"Alright, that's the trestle. Candy said her spirit was stuck nearby."

"She died here?"

"Yeah."

"Dude, what got her? A bear?"

"I'm still stuck on the fact that we're trying to summon a ghost named Candy. You know, just 'cause Kevin said he heard his mom is alive, doesn't mean she..."

"Hey, we at least owe it to the kid to try, right?"

"What'd you bring?" Sam asks.

"Well, she's only been dead a week, right? So I figured we could use as much help as she can get, so..." Dean trails of, pulling out the coffee machine from the bunker.

"Really?"

"Whatever works."

"How much longer?" Cas asks.

"You have someplace to be?"

"His blade. Standard security protocol. Can't be too careful theses days."

"Hello, Bartholomew."

"Castiel." He says, hugging him. "It has been too long."

Night soon came for us in the forest, and it just got colder.

"You feel that? I think I felt a chill."

"Yeah. It's 'cause it's cold. Crowley , it's Dean. Call me when you get this."

"Really Dean?"

"What?"

"That's your third unanswered voicemail. You ever think maybe he's just not that into you?"

"Well, he is our last confirmed link to Ms. Tran. Yes, he is a flaming douche, but at least we know he's real, which is more than we can say for this Candy no-show."

Just then we hear the radio that Dean hung up on a tree trunk, start to tune and turn on.

"Candy? Are..are you there? Is that you, Candy?"

"Hello? Hello?"

"Madness, wasn't it? A puny force of 20 behind enemy lines, launching an incursion against Raphael and his loyalists."

"It was a calculated risk."

"I thought you'd gone insane, and I questioned your leadership, second-guessed every step of the campaign. But you were my commander. I held my tongue. I followed orders. Raphael fled. Most of his loyalists, dead or captured. Your gambit paid off. You...won."

"We won."

"Word of your victory spread. You got called back to the garrison, you became the great Castiel...while I stayed behind, just a grunt."

"You gained a reputation for yourself, as well. The captives I left in your care, you tortured and killed them."

"I was ordered to kill those captives. You've been flying solo for so long, you've forgotten that's what angels do. We follow orders."

"Not you though. Not anymore."

"That's right. I give them."

"At home and...something hit me..."

"There. There. There. Stop. Stop. Stop. Candy?"

"...in the box. They put me in the box. All of us in boxes, side by side. Me, Jerome, Linda."

"Linda's..."

"Ms. Tran. Candy, these boxes, where were they?"

"I don't know. They were cold. Dark. there...there was a vent. We could talk to one another."

"What about the walls? Can you describe them?" I ask.

"Bare. Cement. except for the door. That was...metal, but...like ridged."

"Ridged? You mean like corrugated?"

"Yeah! I tried to life the door, but I couldn't. Locked from the outside."

"Like a storage unit."

"Maybe. Candy, who was holding you there?"

"Two men. It was so dark in the box. When they came, I could barely see. The...the first guy was British, I think. Kind of short, loved hearing himself talk."

"Crowley. And what do they want?"

"Said I was worth more alive than dead. But he stopped coming. Then it was just the other guy. We thought with just him...we'd try to escape. I ran so hard, so far, but..."

"Candy?"

"Candy are you still there?"

"Candy, are you there? What about Ms. Tran? Candy?"

"I don't know. Maybe she survived."

"Maybe? That's not what you told her son."

"I said she was alive. I don't know what happened after. For her sake, I hope she's dead."

And in that very storage unit, she was alive, when the guy came for her. And of course after talking with Candy, we made our way back on the road in search for nearby storage facilities.

"Okay, there are three storage facilities nearby. The closest one is about a mile up the road. Oh, and I, uh...I dug up some stuff on Candy. Turns out she was the kept woman of a powerful congressman. Gossip blog said he worshiped the ground she walked on, literally. He, uh..foot fetish."

"So, Crowley was holding the beloved tootsies of a powerful politician?"

"And the beloved mother of a powerful prophet."

"Ms. Tran."

"Human leverage. But why kill Candy?"

"Well, you heard her. Uh, she tried to make a break for it. Maybe Crowley wanted to make an example."

"But Crowley stopped coming back, remember?"

"Exactly. He wanted the victims alive."

"So, what, you want to give him a medal? I mean, Crowley's the one who put them in the cells in the first place."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just talking it out. You know, working the case. Businesslike."

"Realizing they were more trouble than they were worth, we purged our human allies, then commandeered Boyle Ministries, Inc for our own use."

"Buddy Boyle. So, you killed him."

"No. We made him and his colleagues vessels. At least those who didn't go 'pop'. You nervous Castiel?"

"Your followers want me dead. I'm not entirely certain you don't too."

"If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead."

"So, we're friends here?"

"Yes."

"And I'm free to go?"

"Of course. Though, I don't know why you would. What's out there for you Castiel? What do you really expect to accomplish on your own? You'll never find Metatron that way."

"How'd you know about Metatron?"

"I figured that's why you were pursuing Rebecca, engaging with her follower. We have different methods Cas, but we want the same thing...to find Metatron and restore our kind to Heaven."

"Then why kill Rebecca and her followers? They're no threat to you."

"Perhaps, but better to nip a fledgling faction in the bud, than let it grow into a bigger threat down the road. A drop of blood to save a gallon."

"I don't agree."

"I'm not asking you to. I will outrace Malachi in the hunt for Metatron, and I will certainly outrace you on your own. But if you can set aside your qualms about methods for one second, there's no reason the two of us can't take him down. Together."

"Let me guess...5'5'', pasty white, black rimmed hipster glasses just like the last place." Dean says as we walk into another storage facility, ringing the front desk bell. "Nailed it."

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, hi. Agent Nicks, McVie and Garrison. Need to take a look at your, uh, rental records."

"Uh, my manager's not here. I really don't think I should..."

"Hey! The records, pal."

"Yeah. Bring out the rental binder! There you go sir."

"Hey." Sam gets our attention at the board of where all the storage units are located. "Okay, check it out. Corridor 'Q'. Three adjacent unites separate from the others. I mean, Candy said there were three hostages right?"

"Yeah. Okay. It's all leased by the same guy...a D. Webster."

"D. Webster? Wait. As in, like, Daniel Webster?"

"Well, I know a lame Crowley in-joke when I see one."

"You guys say 'D. Webster'?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you...you seen him?"

"Uh, no, just...I know his name from the records. He's leasing another unit on the other side of the facility. I could show you."

"Yeah. That'd be great. Alright, why don't you two take corridor 'Q'? I'll go with, uh, Del the funky homosapien.

Just to make sure we're not suspicious, we wait until it's all clear to check out the corridor, Dean heading with Del to the storage unit.

"Hmm."

Sam and I finally get to the corridor and find the units and find a lock, Sam picks it and the door opens, we hear screaming from inside.

"Ms. Tran! Ms. Tran! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey, it's us. It's Sam and Brooke. It's us. Oh my gosh." He says as he takes the rag out of her mouth.

"Sam? Brooke? We have to get out of here before it comes back. Is Kevin with you?"

And just then, the door closes by itself. I try and get it open, but it's no use. That's when Sam spots a camera on the ceiling and gets my attention.

"You sure this is the one leased by Webster?" Dean asks Del.

"Yeah, this is it."

That's when Dean notices a box that does not have the name Webster on it at all.

"This isn't Crowley's unit."

When he turns around, he's hit and knocked out by Del.

"What are these locations?" Cas asks as he sees a map and camera pictures.

"Sighting of Metatron."

"He's been on Earth?"

"Three times we know of so far. That's the benefit of a massive ground operation. Eyes an ears everywhere. It's only a matter of time before we get an active location."

"Why wait? With this kind of information, I'd lure him out."

"I knew you'd be an asset. No one's as motivated as you to take him down. I've had my hands so full with the factions, it's distracted me from the real goal. But with you by my side...the new boss and the ultimate rebel working together...think of the message that would send to would-be dissidents. They'd finally understand that resistance if futile. Think of the bloodshed we could avert...what a united angelkind could accomplish in Heaven...elsewhere."

And then the two guys who captured Cas, bring in the guy he was talking to earlier, Rebecca's follower.

"Bart, what are you doing?"

"What need to be done. I'm gonna torture the rebel, find out what he knows, then kill him. And you're going to help."

"Here we go. Alright." Sam says as he gets Ms. Tran free.

"Do you know how we can get out of here Ms. Tran?" I ask.

"There's a...there's an electrical line, leads to the control panel.

"Here, hold the flashlight." Sam says as he hands it to me as he opens the control panel.

"Okay, this might take a while."

Ms. Tran just looks at him, taking the tool he had in his hand.

"We have to unplug the ground wire first. If this is standard U.S. color coding, it should be the green one."

"Okay."

"Helping Kevin with his engineering-club assignments, I picked up a thing or two. I'm sure he insisted, but I trust you weren't foolish enough to bring Kevin along on this mission. That you left him someplace safe?"

"Of course."

"Good. Now all we have to do is get this door open, get the hell out of here, and you will bring me to my son."

That causes Sam and I to look at each other, Sam taking her hand and stopping here for a minute.

"Ms. Tran..." I trail off, and she looks at both of us, wanting to cry but doesn't.

"You will take me to my son. Flashlight. Flashlight!"

Dean on the otherhand was just starting to come to in the storage unit that Del had knocked him out in.

"'Trust me,' he says. 'You definitely want to be a part of this...a chance to get in on the ground floor of my operation, a real learning experience. Consider it a stepping stone, my lad...like an internship.' Should've known. Internships suck."

"So you're the one. You're the one who Crowley left in charge."

"Yeah. What a privilege. Feeding the apes, hosing the floors, washing out the honey buckets, and for zero credit. The boss, M.I.A. Too important to show for work, to even return my calls. And you know the worst part? I wasn't even allowed to kill anyone. I was told to protect them. I mean, how sick is that? Am I not a young, vital demon with basic demon needs and rights? And when I call Crowley to inform him that I've single-handedly caught the Winchesters and the girl with them, if he even answers my call, think I'll get a thank you? Ha!"

"Yeah, you're right kid. He won't give you credit. If anything, he'll be pissed."

"What?"

"Well, me and Crowley, we're...we're tight now. Thick as thieves. Saw him just last month. We, uh, had a grand ol' time."

"So that's where he's been. Out partying with humans, with hunters?! While I languish here in this go-nowhere, no-kill joke of a job."

"'Partying' is a bit of an exaggeration."

"This job blows!" He exclaims, ripping off the nametag and tossing it on the ground. "I quit."

"Tell me where they are." Bartholomew asks the rebel as he tortures him.

"I told you. They're dead. I'm the last."

"Can't you see he's telling the truth? He's done."

"Yes, I believe he is." Bartholomew says, handing the blade for Cas "

"Now finish him off."

"Bartholomew, it doesn't need to be like this."

"Castiel, get your head out of the sand. Do you know why they brought you back from the battlefield? The truth?"

"Yes, I know the truth."

"Our leaders wanted those captives killed, and they knew you'd stand in the way of their order. Said you didn't have it in you. That you couldn't do what needed to be done. But I know different. I know you've changed."

"I'm not a murderer."

"You weren't. Not then. But since then, you've slaughtered thousands of angels. You killed Malachi's man for his grace."

"Who I was, what I did, that's not who I am."

"No? Then who are you? I want to work with you Castiel, but I need proof. They need proof that they were wrong. That you can do what has to be done. This has to be done."

"I was never free to leave. My only choice was to obey or be killed. Well, I choose." Cas says, handing the blade back to Bart.

"I am truly sorry to hear that." Bart says before killing the rebel himself.

"No!"

"Do you know how long it's been since I've done this?" Del asks Dean as he makes a slice mark on his neck. "I thank you for reminding me what I truly am." He adds, going to kill Dean, but the door opens and in we walk and Dean kicks Del in the leg. Sam gets into it with Del and I rush over and help get Dean free.

"Dean are you okay?"

"Yeah, just get me free."

"As your refusal makes perfectly clear, you always thought you were better than me. Shall we put your superiority to the test once and for all?" Bartholomew asks before punching Cas in the face.

"No." Cas state, being punched again. "Angels fighting angels has to stop somewhere. Might as well stop with me."

"Fine." Bart says, grabbing the blade, only for Cas to stop him from killing him. "Stand down!" He exclaims to his followers. "This is between me and the rebel."

Cas gets the better of him, holding the blade to his neck.

"To the victor. Do it."

"No." Cas states, shoving Bart to the ground.

"What are you now? A penitent?"

"I am nothing."

"You never did understand, Castiel. There can be no peace without bloodshed."

Cas drops the blade in his hand, but Bart had one hidden away in his coat. Cas stops him and ends up killing him in the end.

"Let me pass."

"Do it. Kill me." Del says as we've tied him up in the handcuffs from the bunker.

"No, we're saving you for someone else."

"Crowley."

"No, not Crowley unfortunately."

"Much worse."

Then Ms. Tran comes into the storage unit.

"Do the honors, Ms. Tran."

"With pleasure."

"Hey, lady. I swear. I was just following ord..."

That's the last thing he says before she kills him and sends him back to hell, before handing the knife back to Dean.

"Take me to my son." She states, walking out.

We follow behind her and head back to the bunker, but not before stopping somewhere so she could clean up and everything. The next day we got back to the bunker after driving all night.

"Kevin?"

"You here?"

"Kev?"

"Well?" He asks.

"We got her."

"She's alive."

"And she's here."

"But we wanted to give you a moment to...you know, process."

"Oh. I uh...does she know?"

"She does." I nod.

"Kevin? Hello son." She says, on the verge of crying, and the three of us leave the room so they can have their moment.

"Hey mom."

"Oh."

Sam and I stayed and talked with Kevin while Dean took Ms. Tran to Kevin's things, finding what he could be attached to in order to be in the bunker still.

"So, this is uh...this is all of it. You know, hunter's tools...notebooks, papers, pencils, P.S.A.T results. Perfect score. Way to go kid."

"This. This is it. His father's. Mr. Tran died when Kevin was a baby. It's the only piece of his father Kevin ever had. If Kevin's s..spirit is bound to some object here...this is it."

"Listen, Ms. Tran. There's a lot what we don't know about this Heaven situation. There are risks to taking Kevin home with you. Now, spirits, the longer that they're in the veil, they have a way of...well, it doesn't end up well."

"He's my son. It's my job to keep him safe for as long as I can."

"Sorry I created this chaos. Sorry I couldn't do more to fix it. You may have lost the war, Rebecca, but you tried a new way. You have my respect for that." Cas says at the grave of the human that was being possessed by her, before a hand appears on his shoulder, one of Bartholomew's followers.

"I don't want to fight. But if I have to, I will."

"I didn't come to fight. When I fell, I thought I had no choice, but yesterday you've showed me that there is a choice. And I choose you."

"I'm sorry. I'm no leader."

"Yes, you are. If you will have me Castiel, I will follow you. And I am not the only one." He states, as two more show up.

"She was held and tortured for a year because of me. Now that I found her, I'm not letting her out of my sight. She's my responsibility."

"And you were ours. And we failed you. I..."

"Sam. I know that wasn't you. Go put a blade in that asshat who possessed you and we'll call it square. Guys. Thank you."

"You can thank us when we get you to Heaven where you belong. Okay, until then, enjoy your time with your mom. The uh, uninterrupted, 24/7, no-escape quality time."

"Dick." Kevin says jokingly. "Hey, before I go...will you guys promise me something?"

"Yeah. Anything."

"Can you and Sam...get over it? Dudes, just 'cause you couldn't see me, doesn't mean I couldn't see you. The drama, the fighting...it's stupid. And I can tell it's making Brooke upset. My mom's taking home a ghost. You three...you're all still here."

"Of course. Promise."

"Yeah."

"Good."

We watch as he leaves with his mother, disappearing through the door.

"Well, that was..." Dean starts to say, watching Sam walk off. "Yeah, okay."

Sam hesitates, but he goes into his room. Dean and I go into ours. He puts headphones on and plays his music again, not saying a thing.


	16. THINMAN

**Springdale, Washington**

It's the dead of night, this teenage girl has music going in her bedroom and she was obsessed with taking selfies of herself as she was doing it right there in the bedroom. It wasn't until she heard a door close that she stopped her obsessive selfie picture-taking for a moment.

"Mom? Mom, are you home?"

She shrugs it off and closes her door, before going back to taking the selfies. Once she was done, she scrolls through them and she comes across one picture where there's this creepy guy standing behind her. She starts to scroll through more to see the same guy standing there. She then turns around to see him, and then the lights go out. She hurries into the closet and hides, calling 911.

_"911. What is your emergency?"_

"There's someone in my room."

_"What is your location? Can you give us a location ma'am? Are you still there? Ma'am, please do not hang up. I've begun tracing your call, but I need you to stay on the line for me."_

But the man had ended up in her closet and initially killed her, as the 911 operator kept telling her to stay on the line.

**Men of Letters Bunker**

Dean and I had of course heard about the unexplained murder the next day, so we packed up our things and proceeded to head out. But before we could, Dean notified Sam on what was going on.

"Dean, Sam should come. I mean we all work together as a team remember?"

"Alright. We'll be back."

"Wait. Where you headed?"

"Washington. I caught a case."

"You want me to come with?"

"See?"

"Do you want to come?"

"On a hunt? Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know man. 'Cause lately with you, up is down and down is sideways, you know? I-I...I don't know what you want. Okay. You want in? Fine. Sure thing. Photo leaked from the crime scene. Girl was murdered in her room, doors were locked, the windows were locked."

"Who's the wallflower?"

"Exactly."

"We don't know. That's what we have to figure out."

"But best guess, ghost caught on film. So you're coming."

"Does it look like I'm staying?"

He then packs up his things and we get ready to head out, driving out to Washington and to the house where this murder took place.

"I scrubbed for hours. I'll have to rip up the carpet. My daughter, Casey...she picked out the color herself."

"We're...very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Miles. You mentioned Casey had no known enemies. What about at home? Anything unusual you may have noticed? Uh...electricity acting up or lights...flickering, TV on the fritz?"

"No, no fritzing. No cold spots either."

"Sorry. Out of curiosity, uh...why do you mention cold spots?"

"I'm sorry. That must sound strange, but...it's been three days since...and the police have found nothing. I'd h...I'd have to sell my house to afford a private investigator, so when the supernaturalists called..."

"Supernaturalists?" I question.

"I know to the FBI it's not exactly orthodox. But these men had answers that no one else had, and I...I owe it to Casey...to listen."

"Now, they...they brought up cold spots in relation to...?"

"Signs of the paranormal, I suppose. They're coming by today to take a look."

"And did these supernaturalists give you a name?"

She tells us and we find out where they were, heading there.

"Son of a bitch." Dean remarks as we then head inside the diner the van was parked outside of.

"Oh wow, look. We got two more followers."

"Mm."

"Yeah. Harry, I think it's from that library interview we did."

"Nice."

"Hey pal? Hmm? What did Dana post?"

"No, it's just...she changed her profile pic, and it's cropped, but you can clearly see a guy's arm around her. And she's smiling like the dickens."

"Yeah. Uh, it...it could be a platonic...arm that's touching her."

I just follow Sam and Dean and before I know it, they've sat down next to two guys in a booth.

"Ah, the Winchesters. Yay."

"Says nobody."

"Ever."

"But who is this little hot thing with them?"

"Alright stop. Shut up and listen. This is how it's gonna go. You two clowns are gonna get into that mystery machine outside, and you're gonna leave town or I'm gonna put holes in your knees."

"Can I get you guys anything? Something uh.."

"Uh, we're ready for the bill."

"Hey. There's still crud on this plate. Now hit the sinks and do it right."

"Sorry Trey."

"Ahh, first of all, you guys don't scare us."

"Not at all."

"Say 'hola' to my little pistola."

"And I supposed to be impressed with that treasure trail or the lady gun you got hiding your uh, pants there?"

"Uh...both? Look, whether you like it or not, we are handling this situation."

"Yup."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm."

"'Cause I see a couple of fame whores who are pointing a camera at a mom who just lost her kid."

"Guys, we are investigators, and we have every right..."

"No. No, you don't. You know why? 'Cause you're just gonna get in our way."

"Or you're gonna get somebody else killed."

"That's right. So, you can either walk out of here...or crawl. Up to you."

"Oh my god, Menudo. Will you guys relax? We know what we're doing."

"Not from the stories I've heard." I snicker.

"Really? And what about the rest of the bad news bears, huh? Where's the...where's the fat one? And...and the girl? There was a girl right?"

"They...we dropped them. They were...they were dead weight."

"Well, t-they're still alive."

"They're...no, they're totally alive."

"I see. So, it's just the, uh, dumpy duo then. Well, that's great. So here's the deal. A ghost...will land you two dead in five seconds flat."

"A ghost? Oh. They think it's a ghost. It's so not a ghost."

"Okay. We'll bite. What do you think it is?"

"Can I...Can I do it this time?"

"You got it."

"Okay. I've waited all my life for this. Amazon me, bitches."

"I will shoot you...bitches."

"Like we were saying, you were just going, right? Great."

"Good talk." Dean says, before motioning me to follow them out.

"50 shades of way too much protein."

We head to a motel to do some research, and of course the first thing we do is look up their website. Well Sam does anyway.

"Uh...guys?"

"What do you got?" I ask, coming over.

"Ed and Harry wrote a book."

"What?"

"Yeah. Uh, 'The Skinny on Thinman'. By America's foremost supernaturalists.

"What the hell's a thinman?"

"I don't know. Um...whoa. Check that out though." Sam says as he goes to a picture from the excerpt and it shows this creepy looking guy in the background with no face.

"So, that's Thinman?" I ask.

"That does kind of look like whatever was behind Casey Miles, right?"

"Or Garth if somebody shaved his face off. Big whoop."

"Here we go. Uh, 'Thinman - an urban legend started on the world wide web...lurks in the background of his victims' lives until he's ready to kill them'."

"Yeah, because everything started on the internet is true. Like uh, oh, the shark attacking a helicopter...they write the book on that one too?"

"Dude, real or not, thousands of people have posted to the site. It's like Thinman is the new bigfoot or something."

"Or Thinman is just a ghost with a brand name."

"You're saying that 'cause you really think it's a ghost or because you don't like the Ghostfacers?"

"Probably the second option." I nod.

"Hey, don't forget...we hit EMF in Casey's room."

"Right, but the house was next door to power lines, which can affect the read."

"Exactly."

"A girl died in a locked room guys. Spells 'ghost' right there."

"Maybe it got in there before it was locked up. Who knows Dean? But how can people all over the world see the same ghost? Spirits don't exactly hop around."

"I know that. But right now, the veil is all kinds of screwed, okay? Ghosts could be popping up anywhere."

"Yeah, but Dean, Thinman sightings date back a couple years. The veil's only been a problem for that, the last six months?"

"Well, you know, people still see Elvis all over the damn place. Look, all I'm saying is those douchewheels ain't experts on crap."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm checking the local deaths to see if there's any candidates for ghosts."

In the meantime, the Ghostfacers had gone to the house where the murder took place, camera set up and ready to go.

"The closet...the setting of the sunset of Casey's life. Harry."

"Yeah."

"Come on man, would you please stop Facebook stalking your ex-girlfriend?"

"I was right. She changed her relationship status to 'it's complicated'. What does that even mean?"

"Who cares? You broke up with her. Everything about that girl is complicated. Okay, I mean, she gets the cream puffs, she tells you to take out the filling. They're just puffs."

"Yeah, that was some pretty messed up stuff."

"Mmhmm."

"Uh, okay. I'm...I'm sorry. Mm. Okay. I'm good. Back on game. Yeah. We're so close to finding Thinman, Ed. Mmhmm. I can smell him. I can smell his musk. Mmhmm."

"Closer than ever. This is really serious Harry."

"Yeah."

"I mean, the Winchesters and that chick are here, and you know, I don't want my knees blown off by Sam and Dean. Have you ever thought that we might just, you know, bail on this?"

"What? What the...what the hell is wrong with you?! We can't let those jockstraps steal our glory. No one cares what they think. They don't even have a Twitter. We're gonna fin Thinman Ed, for our families, for Dana."

"Oh, so it's about your ex eating her words?"

"It's about making all the haters eat their words. Maggie and Spruce...the just...deserters. They want to lead a 'normal life'. I mean, what is that."

"Screw them."

"Screw them."

"Right?"

"When we find Thinman, are they gonna be on 'Dr. Phil'?"

"No."

"We're gonna be on 'Dr. Phil'."

"Hell yeah. Press 'record' buddy."

"You got it. Wait for it."

"You ready?"

"Yep."

"The bedroom of a teenage girl is meant for two things. Giggles and joy. Until one night, Thinman turned the giggles into blood."

"Oh! You are so money right now."

"You like that?"

"This is good stuff. And it's gonna pay off in ladies Ed. Lots of ladies. We're gonna need...we're gonna need snorkels, 'cause we're gonna be swimming around in so much..."

"Thought you boys might be thirsty." Casey's mother says as she comes in with drinks.

"Please. That sounds delicious."

"Okay. Alright, over the past six months, there have been three unnatural deaths in Springdale, none of them connected to Casey Miles, and none of them violent."

"That really helps."

"Okay, that's not exactly a recipe for a vengeful spirit. There have been a bunch of unexplained deaths pinned on Thinman. Um, a vic dies, then a couple weeks later, a photo pops up of the vic with Thinman photobombing."

"So, Thinman's stalking folks?"

"According to the lore."

"According to the idiots. How come none of these vics pinged our radar?"

"I'm pretty sure the mysterious deaths can be chalked up to non-supernatural causes. That and honestly, most of these photos look pretty fake."

"Even Casey's?"

"Except Casey's. Casey's photo...wasn't doctored. Whatever was behind her...was really there."

"Okay, well that doesn't make any sense. I mean, how could something be both real and fake at the same time?"

"Well, a girl is dead, and that's about as real as it gets."

"Alright, so, the last thing she did was she took a photo on her phone. How did that photo end up online?"

"No clue. It was originally posted to a Thinman fan forum, but the I.P. address was blocked."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. This thing has fans? Of course it does. Okay, well, then somebody wanted this photo on the internet, and I'm guessing that the ghost didn't hop online to post it."

We then grab our things and head out to the nearest police station to find out more about Casey's death and possibly look at the criminal evidence from the scene.

"Is the uh, sheriff around? There's a couple questions we'd like to ask him."

"Uh, sorry to disappoint. Sheriff's on a hunting trip. But uh, I appreciate you agents being here. I could use all the help I can get."

"Wait a second. Was this cracked when you found it?" Sam asks as he holds up the phone the pictures were taken on.

"Yeah man. Maybe she dropped it? 911 call went dead at 11:59."

"Wait, what time was the photo posted?"

"Around 2:00 am."

"But the coroner has the death at midnight. How could she have posted the photo from her phone? That...that's impossible."

"Or supernatural."

"What?"

"Why would you say that?"

"A couple fellas came by, uh, asking questions about the girl's death, suggested they might be able to help. They uh, gave me a book they wrote about, um..."

"Thinman?"

"Yeah."

Dean just nods, closes the folder and walks out.

"Not a fan?"

"Him, not really."

Meanwhile at a local diner, the manager was checking receipts or something like that from the day, when there was a knock on the window. He goes over to check it out, but there's nothing there. He goes back to his work, before there's the tapping noise again. He turns the security cameras on and scrolls through them, to see if he can see anyone. On one camera, someone walks by it, then he switches to the camera in the diner and that same person is behind him, and of course he gets killed as soon as he turns around. Of course we hear about it and the next day we go to check it out.

"Agents, thanks for coming."

"What are these two crapshoots doing here?" Dean asks about Ed and Harry.

"Yeah, I mean...they're not FBI or anything like that."

"I figured it wouldn't hurt to go a little 'medium', you know? Uh...two counties over, folks were combing the place for a poor little dead boy back in August. The cops let a psychic do her thing. Shish, bang, boom...found a body a day later."

"Uh huh. Excuse me."

"Is there any uh, security cam footage?"

"Uh, yeah just..." He trails off, leading us over to where it is while Dean deals with Ed and Harry.

"Hey. I thought I told you to beat it."

"Oh, well, what are you gonna do? You gonna out me, 'agent'?"

"Okay look, playing paparazzi at a crime scene...who does that help but yourselves?"

"The bloggers Dean, the believers...everyone who needs just a little proof to know that thinman is out there."

"Wait, so you're saying there's a lot of folks online that are pretty die-hard about this thing?"

"Oh yeah."

"Uh huh. You throw the right Tibetan symbol into the mix, you dumb asses ever think the thinman comes to life as a Tulpa?"

"Because thousands of people can agree that thinman is any one thing? The lore changes blog to blog. He's not a Tulpa."

"Okay alright, alright. Right here, right now, cut the crap. Do either of you actually know what thinman is?"

"No. We just play supernaturalists on TV."

"We have no idea what we're doing. Of course we do."

"Thinman is part man, part tree."

"Some people believe that he emerged from the nightmare of an autistic boy."

"Alright, so you have no idea."

"Fellas, you wanna see this."

"Alright, check it out."

We see the same exact footage the manager saw, including himself being slashed across the throat and killed.

"Whoa."

"Alright, so how did he jump from the parking lot to the diner. The doors were locked?"

"The footage shows Trey locked them 10 minutes before."

"Locked, not locked, it doesn't matter. Everyone knows thinman can teleport."

"I didn't even get a blip on my EMF."

"So maybe it's not a ghost."

"You feds believers now?"

"Okay uh...we're gonna go. Uh, good work deputy, agent."

"Let's go. Let's go man."

"See it again."

That night, Ed and Harry were on the road.

"Holy wow. Someone posted the diner footage of thinman in the comments section of our blog."

"Who?"

"Who cares? Maintain current velocity."

"Hey, wh-why are you putting your ninja outfit on?"

"I'm not gonna wait for someone else to die. I'm gonna find thinman tonight."

"Where?"

"The woods, obvi."

"Uh, that's kind of general."

"Well, the lore says that thinman hangs out by trees, and the woods is where trees hang out. Two kills in town...local woods is the best bet."

"Two people are dead...really dead. And I just keep thinking that you know, I just keep thinking that Sam, Dean and whoever that chick is should just take over."

"First of all, hell no. And...and quit raining on my rainbow."

"Rainbows can't happen without rain."

"Don't try to use science with me. This is about a-a feeling. And we can't quit when we're so close to finding thinman and finally making up for everything we've lost because of...what we do."

"Okay, it wouldn't be the worst idea though, you know, if we leave it to the professionals."

"We are the professionals Ed."

"So, the woods?"

"Any woods Ed. Any woods."

"Okay."

With the three of us, we had sat down and did more research while just hanging out and having some drinks and food.

"Just grasping at straws here, but when I think 'teleport', I think 'Crossroads Demon'."

"Mm."

"Very true." I nod.

"Demon that likes to stab and watch YouTube. Why not?"

"Oh, by the way, speaking of which, the video of uh, Trey getting knifed...it's already online. It has like, 2,000 views. It's like somebody wants people to see thinman in action."

"It's 'cause people will watch, 'cause people are sick."

"Exactly."

"And when did 'viral go from that baby chimp falling out of a tree to killer 'candid camera'?"

"You know what video would have gone viral, if we still had it? When you were five and you got dressed up as Batman and you jumped off the shed 'cause you thought you could fly."

"Awww, cute." I laugh.

"After you jumped first."

"Hey, I was nine, and I was dressed up like Superman, okay? Everybody knows that Batman can't fly."

"Well I didn't know that, I broke my arm."

"I know you did. Man, I drove you to the E.R. on my handlebars. Well, good times."

"Yeah, they were." Sam says after a bit of silence.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." I offer, getting up and doing so but Ed comes right in.

"Well just come in then." I scoff.

"I got to tell you guys something important, an then the case is yours."

"Harry here solo Ghostfacer, investigating a possible thinman habitat...in the woods. All alone, deep in the woods, a man could lose his marbles being so close to the blade of doom. Lucky for us, I'm really good at marbles."

"Alright, either you bleed Ghostfacers red or you don't. If spruce wanted to start a startup and Maggie's heart was in the roller derby, who am I to stop them? But Harry...I-I couldn't let him give in to his girl. I mean, she...she called the Ghostfacers stupid. Stupid! Can you...can you believe that? You know, I-I don't care how much money her daddy's hedge fund has. I just couldn't watch Harry become a corporate stooge."

"Okay, this all sounds like sad times at bitchmont high. What does this have to do with the case?"

"Harry was gonna leave, so I needed to give him a reason to stay. I-I made up thinman."

"Thinman stalks his victims, but the tables have turned, my friends. The stalker is now the stalkee."

"So you're saying that this crap is actually crap?"

"One old photo of a butler, a lot of photoshop later, and I posted on one of those horror forums under 'anonymous'."

"And it blew up."

"Yeah. I only faked one case for us, and then we're packing up to go home. When somebody posted a sighting of thinman, so...we went after it, and that's how thinman became a crowdsourced legend. Look, we were at the front of it. It felt like something. It...it was so awesome to have a following, and Harry...he was just...he was so into it."

"Ed, you have to tell him."

"You don't get it. We were the thinman guys. Without the thinman, we're just...guys...just...we're just puffs."

"Puffs?"

"If I tell Harry, he's gonna leave the Ghostfacers."

"Oh such a tragedy." I scoff.

"Listen, if you don't tell him, he's gonna leave anyway. Trust me here. Secrets ruin relationships."

"Okay, well, I'll just tell him when the time is right."

"Time's right now, chief."

"Well he's...he's not here."

"What do you mean he's not here?"

"Uh, he's...he's out in the woods, uh searching for thinman."

"That's just great."

"Okay, because thinman or whatever the hell this thing is, has killed two people, and now Harry is in the woods alone."

"Well, actually it's more like 'wood', um, 'cause I dropped him off by some trees behind a grocery store. Guys, come on. He's gonna be fine."

I just roll my eyes and that's when the three of us go and get our things together just in case.

"Guys?"

"Alright, what we have here is a, uh...it's a...it looks like a formation of sticks in the shape of a pile. Could have been left here for us by thinman. What was that? Oh! Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. We are not alone."

And then thinman appears behind him, and he gets slashed against the midsection and starts to go after him. We were already quickly on our way there and Dean slammed on the brakes when we saw that Harry was in the middle of the road. We all quickly get out and see that Harry has been hurt, and he almost collapses, but Sam and Dean rush towards him and hold him up. After making sure he's stable, Sam finds something to cut off the bleeding wrapping and ties it around him.

"Too tight?"

"Nope. No, I'm good."

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm just gonna have to staple it when we get back to the motel. We were right Ed! Thinman's real."

"Yeah. Some fresh tire tracks back over there. I took some photos."

"What for?"

"Because that car might belong to whoever knifed you."

"Well, whoever cut me was thinman, and thinman doesn't drive. It was thinman, jackass! I mean, I shouldn't have to connect the dots for you guys. I figured, you know, you're all intelligent, m-maybe."

"Um, Harry."

"What?"

We all went back to the motel, Dean and I went and checked out the tire tracks in the woods, while Sam stayed back at the motel, staying outside the room as Harry and Ed had their talk. Ed of course telling Harry that he made up thinman.

"Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"Because I-I don't know...I thought you were gonna get mad."

"Oh good guess Ed. I am mad. I'm really really mad at you right now."

"I-I can see that."

"You crashed the jenga tower of our lives. I was gonna get married. I left her to run around with you, living some lie."

"Well, at least we were living it together."

"Seriously? Seriously?"

"If I hadn't struck gold with thinman, you'd be doing a boring job, doing boring numbers, answering to Dana's dad. Okay? I saved you bud."

"Saved me? From what?! From living a nice life? From not getting stabbed? How selfish can you be?"

"Well, maybe it's not too late, you know? You could call her and see."

"That's not gonna work."

"Well, maybe...maybe it will."

"No, it's not. You want to know why? 'Cause she's got some guy's arm wrapped around her neck, and it's 'complicated', okay?"

"Look Harry, we didn't know from the start if thinman was real or not. I...okay, look, maybe I had some inside knowledge, okay, but does it really make a difference if we keep it going for the fans? They'll never know."

"I'll know. You made a chump out of me Ed."

"Harry, we can get through this. We just debunk thinman and then we go back to Ghostfacers."

"I can't. I can't trust you anymore Ed."

"Oh, come on Harry."

He just walks by him and sits in the recliner in the room.

"I get it. You're pissed, okay? And...and you don't mean what you say. But Harry, just tell me what you need. I'll go get some coffee, and...and you can stay here and chill."

He does so, and Sam meets Ed out in the hallway.

"Hey, how did it go?"

"It um, went, uh...um..." He says before going down to the coffee machine, Sam going into the room.

"Hey. You okay?"

"I just got punched right in the feels. Um...none of it was real, Sam. Ed was just pretending and now he wants me to pretend, like this is just something I could get past."

"I know what you mean. Look, there are things you can forgive, and there are things you can't."

"So which one is this?"

"That's something you got to figure out for yourself."

Then there was a knock on the door and Dean and myself walk in.

"Hey. Uh..we gt a bead on those tire treads, if you want to..."

Sam nods, looks at Harry and he nods too, before Sam himself joins us.

"So, what's up?"

"So, the tires were only made for one kind of car. It's a 1989 Geo Metro. Town this small...there's only one registered here. Deputy says it belongs to a guy named Roger who works night security own at the mill on the north side of town."

"So this thing teleported, but it has a job and a car. What are we dealing with?"

"Let's go find out."

We head out and Ed goes back into the room after having heard us.

"Oh. Sam and Dean and Brook caught something, so they're gonna clean up your mess."

"You're right. It is my mess. I should be the one out there cleaning it up."

"You'd just make it worse. Oh, what? You were fine leaving Sam and Dean before. Why not now?"

"I don't want to be a jellyfish spine anymore Harry."

"Jellyfish don't have spines."

"Exactly. Before the heartache, before the lies, we set out to help people, right?"

"Yeah. Mostly."

"So there's no reason not to get out there an do what we mostly set out to do."

"Harry, I-I can make this right for the both of us."

"We can make it right."

"Y-you mean you want to come with me?"

With the three of us, we pull up to the mill, seeing the deputy there waiting for us.

"Deputy?"

"I thought we said my partners and I would take care of this."

"Look guys, my boss is AWOL. We don't have a warrant. My ass is on the line if this thing goes sideways."

"Alright just stay back."

Sam goes to pick the lock only to find the door open already. We have our guns ready an head in. And just then we were shocked and passed out.

"Always wanted to use these things."

When we do wake up however, we're handcuffed to various parts of the mill, Dean being handcuffed to a chair as the deputy sets everything up from cameras, and etc.

"So, you're thinman huh? That would make sense if it didn't look like you just ate a fat camp. Oh god, make him stop."

"Hey, so what's the deal? Are you, Norwood? You a demon? I mean, how did you teleport back at the diner?"

"Team effort."

And just then, thinman does walk in, and it's a guy in a mask and costume.

"So, there was no teleporting...just a couple of douche bags doing the 'Scream' thing."

"Wait, I know who you are. You're the busboy from the diner. So what, you just wanted to kill your boss?"

"Trey was a dick."

"And what about Casey? What did she do?"

"Yeah, she was an innocent girl."

"She wouln't go out with me, so I set her up with someone else...my knife."

"Sicko." I grumble.

"Good one, Rog."

"I see the sheriff didn't make it out of town."

"Oh he really should've given me the time off I asked for."

"So you killed him?!"

"I didn't kill anyone. Roger did. He's the psycho. I'm the visionary. I don't blame you for underestimating me. Everybody does. Fancy fed, coming in here, treating me like a paper monkey from the get-go. But I was thinman the whole time. Do you have any idea how good that felt?"

"No sicko, I can't say that I do."

"Yeah, pretty boy doesn't know what it's like to feel invisible...to grow up in a town of 300 people and nobody sees you."

"They didn't see us."

"So, how did you two meet? ?"

"No. Just a couple of schmoes in an empty bar. We hit it off. Turns out, me and Rog, we're both total conspiracy-theory junkies. And then we found thinman, and, bam. We blew up all over the message boards."

"So what is this then? Some sort of twisted cosplay?"

"Cosreal. You know, blogging was fun, but..."

"But let me guess, you wanted something more."

"You realize what you two jackasses are doing doesn't make you thinman. It makes you copycat killers."

"It makes me thinman. And you're not telling anyone I'm not, 'cause you'll be too dead to talk."

"Show time."

"You three are lucky ducks. You're the stars of our best video yet. And when it goes viral, everyone will know thinman's real."

"And...action!"

"Wait, no no no no. Don't!"

Just then there's a thud, which makes them stop. To keep up from screaming out for help, in usual fashion, tape is put over our mouths. Little did we know, Ed and Harry had followed us.

"Harry..."

Harry turns and sees thinman, only to get kicked right in the crotch.

"Oh, he got me! He got me back!"

"It's scooby doo time, douche bag. Take off the mask. I know you're not thinman. You're just a me-me."

"Ed, it's pronounced meme."

"It's spelled m-e-m-e, though."

"The second 'e' is silent. Yeah."

"You're a me-me...a-a man-meme, and I invented you." Ed says before he's hit over the back from the deputy.

"Good to know."

"Oh, sh-"

"I'm a lover of classics Ed. And what we have here is a 'Frankenstein' situation. I mean, wow, the creator. I mean, we...we were gonna let one of you guys live to tell our story. But now, once you two are dead, there'll be no proof that thinman was your brainchild." The deputy says as he leads Ed and Harry out to where we are, only to find out that we had escaped.

We get them by surprise and a fight breaks out. Roger ends up dead as Dean had stabbed him. The deputy was still alive though and cocks his gun.

"Wait, no! No! No! No, look. Look at me. Okay? It's all my fault."

"I got enough bullets for the both of you."

There's a gunshot and he ends up dead. We look over to see that Harry had shot and killed him. We left both bodies there and cleared the area, going back ot to the cars.

"So, are we good in there?"

"Yeah. With the thinman footage and the way I set the bodies, there should be enough breadcrumbs to make it look like those two psychos offed each other."

"They were just people, man. They weren't...demons. They weren't monsters. They...were just frickin' people."

"Yeah well, like I said, people are sick."

"S-so...are we cool?" Ed asks Harry.

"I don't think we ever will be."

"I mean, you know we made it right. We uh...we beat the guys. This could be our shot to start the old Ghostfacers again."

"I came here with you to finish this thing with thinman. I wasn't just closing a chapter Ed. It was the whole dang book."

"But you saved my life back there."

"I killed a guy Ed."

"He was a bad guy Harry."

"He was a guy Ed. Too many people have died 'cause of your crap."

"I've done all this crap for us and I-I don't know why you don't see that."

"No. No. You did this for you. Ed, there's a lot of things I can forgive, but this isn't one of them."

"So, what does this mean about us?"

"It means...it's complicated." He says as he walks over to us.

"Can I get a ride from you guys?" He asks us.

"Yeah, sure." Dean nods and we all get into the car, driving off and away from Ed.

"Harry, you okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, no. You roll with a guy so many years, you start to think he's always gonna be next to you. Like when you're old and you're drinking on the porch, he'll be in that other rocking chair. And then something happens, and you realize that other chair has gone empty. You know what I mean?"


	17. Blade Runners

"Come on Crowley. Pick up!" Dean says aggravated, as he's called Crowley several times, but he hasn't answered his phone. "Where the hell is is? It's not like he's got a social life."

"Um, are you actually worried?"

_Too busy inflicting pain to answer. Leave a message._

"Guy's got one job...find the first blade, bring it back. How hard is that?"

"This is Crowley we're talking about here, Dean." I point out.

"Exactly. He's not exactly a team player." Sam agrees and adds.

"Yeah, but his ass is on the line too. He goes missing for weeks on end without a peep? Well, not one that makes sense, anyway. Listen to this."

_Dean. Um..._

The rest of Crowley's message was just gibberish, sounding like drunken gibberish.

"Wait a second. Did he...drunk-dial you?"

Dean ends the message and goes back to trying to call him.

"Come on."

It does indeed ring on Crowley's end, but he's too busy at the moment to even pick up.

"Lola?"

"My king."

"My apres-consummation treat."

"On it, sire."

She goes into the closet where there's a man tied up, and gets his blood.

"Pantry's almost empty. We'll need another volunteer."

"You should add that to your 'to do' list."

He takes the syringe and then injects the blood into his system, falling back onto the pillows.

"Lola, pet? I do believe I'm ravenous."

She ends up leaving for a few hours, and comes back, with Crowley still in bed and watching TV. After she finds Crowley in the current state he's in, she heads to a shipping warehouse and sits on one of the boxes and waits, until a man comes up to her.

"My name is Aldo."

"My intel is for Abaddon...minion."

"And she appreciates the work you've been doing."

"At great peril."

"But she is tied up securing her place as new leader of the kingdom. She assures you that all relevant information can be conveyed to me. So...update?"

"The king is off his game. Except for sex, pizza, and human blood, he has no interests. He can't function without me."

"Well played."

"I should mention he keeps getting phone calls from those Winchesters. They leave voice mails for him."

"Saying?"

"Mostly, they're rude. One mentioned something called the first blade."

"Interesting. Follow how this develops and report in."

"Oh I will. And when I do, I expect to report directly to the next queen of Hell. Capiche?"

In the meantime, that night we head to the nearest crossroads, spray painting a giant devil's trap in the middle, burying the usual box to summon one of the crossroad demons.

"Alright, do it."

"You sure this is gonna work?"

"The demon has no choice, we have to find out where Crowley is."

"Daemon, esto subiecto voluntati meae."

We turn around and there's one of the demons, and it's...Snooki.

"Winchesters. Brooke."

"I-is that, uh...?"

"Snooki."

"Well, that explains a lot."

"Okay, uh, look...Snooki...can I call you 'Snooki'?"

"No. It's Nicole now."

"Okay, then. Nicole...we can do this one of two ways. The easy way...you talk. Or...the easier way...you still talk." Sam says, revealing the knife.

"I vote for number two."

"We just want some basic information on Crowley. That's it."

"Google him. Are we done?" She scoffs. "Whoa! Not the face! Are you crazy?" She says as Sam heads towards her. "Listen guys, what happens in Hell stays in Hell. I got nothin'."

"But you do have a pretty sweet deal with Crowley in charge. If Abaddon wins, you can kiss all that goodbye."

"All the fancy cars, the book deals."

"Show biz can be tough."

"I'm doing fine. Thanks."

"Oh. Well, good luck landing your next gig inside a devil's trap."

"What do you want to know?"

"Where is Crowley?"

"Last time I heard, he was somewhere in the Western Pacific."

"Makes sense."

"Really? Floating around in the ocean while his kingdom goes up in flames?"

"Meaning?"

"Hell's gettin' crazy. Even the loyalists want to sign on with Abaddon. She's gonna make her move. Are we done? I got a thing."

Dean gives Sam a look, an he smirks.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immunus spiritus..."

"Seriously? An exorcism? We had a deal!"

"See ya, Snooks."

"Best to get you out of her body anyway." I nod.

Sam then continues on with the exorcism. In the meantime, Lola returns from being gone all day.

"Honey, I'm home."

"Hello Pumpkin. Did you have a nice day?"

"Lola did some shopping."

"Looks like Lola did a lot of shopping."

"But not all of it's for me. Looky, looky." She says as he opens a bag full of bags of blood.

"I hope it's a good vintage."

"Well, you look like you could use a little pick-me-up. I just love what it does for you."

"Do you?" He smirks and then sends her flying into the bedroom. "You tried to play me? I play the tune! Everyone else dances to it. Got it?"

"Yes! I-I'm your slave."

"You're my rodent. My little rodent who went scurrying off to Abaddon to rat on me."

"No! No."

"Do you really think some other lowlife wouldn't sell you out? I thought you were a smart girl...a girl I could've helped."

"You're joking right? You help me? Look at yourself. You couldn't help anyone."

He says nothing, but he does take out a blade and kills her. He then proceeds to inject more blood into his system. He looks at the carnage in the room with him, two dead humans and then Lola who he thought he could trust. The three of us however after getting the info on Crowley, went back to the bunker and started the research on where Crowley could be.

"Hey."

"Hey. So...Cain said the first blade was tossed in the deepest ocean, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much." I nod.

"That's the Mariana Trench. Maybe Crowley found it, and it's a double cross."

"That doesn't make sense. He wants me to power it up and kill the ginger. He set it up."

"Okay. A-assuming he does show up with it, Crowley is only useful to us until we have the blade."

"Yeah. So?"

"So...there's nothing stopping us from using it on him, right?"

"Nothing at all."

Just then Dean's phone goes off.

"Speak of the Devil. Did you find the first blade?"

_"Not exactly."_

"Well, then what, exactly?"

_"I'm in...a jam of sorts. Thought you might help."_

Of course that prompted us to head to where he was since he told us of course and we made our way up to the hotel room he was staying at. We did however make it there before he got back, and we were sitting there when he came back.

"Crowley."

"Hello you three."

"And what do you call this?" Dean asks about the three dead bodies.

"Refreshments?"

"What's in the bag, Crowley?"

"Nothing."

"Really? Maybe I can..uh.." Sam says as he grabs and opens the bag, revealing a bag of blood.

"What, are you knocking over blood banks?"

That's when we take him and sit him down in a chair, handcuffing him to it with the special handcuffs that'll keep him there.

"Look at you. You're a mess. You know, we were counting on you. You let us down."

"Your slimy followers were counting on you to kill Abaddon, and you let them down."

"The man with all the mojo...captain evil."

"Oh, it's pathetic."

"No kidding."

"What is this? An intervention?"

"You need to focus Crowley. Get a grip!"

"What, you just gonna let Hell go to hell?"

"You don't know what it's like to be human!"

"Excuse me, what?"

"It's your DNA. It's my addiction. My cross, my burden!"

"Alright, take it easy."

"I see the darkness of it now, the Anthony Weiner of it. It makes you needy. I needed her. Lola used me. She reported everything I did back to Abaddon."

"Everything?"

"Crowley...did you tell her about the first blade?"

"I don't know. Things get a trifle blurry when I'm medicated."

"Great. If he told Lola, she definitely told Abaddon."

"Which means that Abaddon's in the hunt for this thing, too. Alright, you know what? This crap ends now. You're cut off. Okay? Kicking it. Cold turkey."

And since we had him, we brought him once again back to the bunker and put him back into the dungeon, chained up.

"Back in this fetid pit. Could at least have added some throw pillows."

"Focus." Sam scoffs. "Okay. You swept the Mariana Trench. And...?"

"And the first blade was not, as hoped, in the trench. It had, in fact, been scooped up by an unmanned sub, from who it was stolen by a research assistant, who reportedly sold it to Portuguese smuggles who, in turn, lost it to Moroccan pirates in a poker game."

"What?"

"Poor Moose. It's always a little tricky keeping up, isn't it?"

"What are you doing?" Sam asks as he catches Crowley just staring at him.

"I'm still a little tainted by humanity. Makes me sentimental."

"Well, stop."

"You and I both know we shared a mo back in that church. And on some level, we are bonded."

"Crowley, the only reason you are alive is that we need your help to deal with Abaddon okay? 'Cause she is an even worse pile of rap than you are. And that is the extent of my concern for you. Got it? Okay. What happened after the pirates?"

After Sam got the information out of him, we arranged to meet with this dealer in a public location, a park, with Crowley joining of course. But he stayed far away from us for the time being. As we were waiting, Crowley starts to mess with the snack machine, trying to get one out of it.

"What is Crowley doing?"

"Having a mental breakdown?" I snicker.

"Stealing candy."

"He's...he's...he's stealing candy."

"You know, at least when Cas was human, he was an okay guy. Should've known Crowley would be a douche version. Hey. Hey! Cut it out man! Image! You're the king of rotten. Act like it."

"So is this guy gonna show up or...?" I trail off.

"I mean, this isn't exactly a place where million dollar deals go down."

"Look, word is, this Andre Develin character bought the blade from the pirates, and he's been shopping it around. That's all I know."

"Uh guys? I think that's him." I say, referring to a shadow coming through the trees.

"Mr. Develin, we spoke on the phone."

"You said you represent a serious collector with an interest in a private transaction."

"Did he? Oh. Well, what he meant to say was, is that we are with...the FBI."

"Then good evening."

"Wait a second. We just want some answers."

"Read Sartre. Jean Paul Sartre. I'm merely a facilitator between the buyer and the seller...a conduit. So unless I'm being detained..." He trails of before a cloud of red smoke enters him...Crowley, and then seconds later, leaves.

"So, am I? Being detained?"

"Not at the...moment. No, but we've got our eyes on you."

"So, Crowley what did you find out?" I ask when he approaches us when the other man leaves.

"National Institute of Antiquities."

Meanwhile two security guards were taking their night shift, playing a card game.

"Gin. Again."

But then they were possessed by two demons and they basically killed each other with gunshots to the chest. Of course not after killing the woman that came in with food for them on their shift. We got a hold of the case of course since it was one of those strange ones and proceeded to head there the next day.

"I don't have much for you guys. The guards were good men. They'd been here for years...vetted, honest. But..."

"But?"

"Security camera shows a research assistant caught them breaking into vault number one."

"That's her?"

"Gets weirder." He says and shows us the camera footage.

"Like I said."

"Anything special about the particular vault they opened?"

"Vault number one is where they keep rare, new acquisitions while they're being examined."

"So what was stolen?"

"That's the kicker...nothing. The curator, Dr. McElroy, said the vault's been empty for weeks."

"Excuse me. Detective?"

"Okay, so just connecting the dots here...the blade was likely put in there when it first got here."

"The guards were obviously demons, so...what? When the vault turned out to be empty, they killed their guard meat suits and smoked out?"

"And reported back to who? Abaddon?"

"Who else would they report to?"

"She's closing in."

One the scene was cleared, Dr. McElroy showed up and we had a few words with her.

"So, the first blade was never on display?"

"No authenticated item by that name was ever on these premises"

"Authenticated. Dr. McElroy, this blade was stolen and smuggled into the US in violation of treaties with several government. We can compel you to speak."

"Compel? And what might that involve? Alright look, I did acquire the so called first blade. And carbon dating did peg it to biblical times, but the authentication proved unreliable."

"So it was in the vault."

"I removed it myself. The guards didn't know."

"And where is it now?"

"Several weeks ago, a confidential offer was made to purchase it. I was afraid we would never authenticate the thing, so..."

"Who was the buyer?"

"Sorry. The buyer insisted on absolute secrecy."

"Well...federal statutes trump your little deal. So...the buyer?"

"And you'll get it out of me one way or another, won't you agent?"

"Oh not him, I will." I give her a look, since she was basically flirting with Dean.

"I never did know his real identity. He called himself Magnus. Don't ask me where he lives. I have no idea. But I do have a meeting. So, here is my number, should you need anything else." She says, holding out a business card to Dean.

Sam goes to grab it, but she pulls it back and holds it out to Dean again.

"I'll take that." I remark, snatching it from her hand and she walks away. "We won't be needing her anymore." I add, ripping up the card.

"Did you catch that? Magnus? Albert Magnus? The name the men of letters used when they want to be incognito?"

"Yeah, but we know that all of the men of letters are dead."

"Do we?"

After we make it back to the bunker and change, we go to Crowley for answers, because he'll obviously have them.

"Alright Crowley, time to talk again."

"Turndown service? I'd like a mint on my pillow."

"What do you know about the men of letters massacre of 1958?"

"We know Abaddon missed our grandfather and Larry Ganem. Was there anybody else?"

"Let me get this straight. You keep me locked up in this closet, ignore my suffering, and then come barging in here and demand my help?"

"Pretty much." I nod.

"Did I or did I not keep my end of the bargain the other night? Quite brilliantly, I might add. We are partners! And you owe me!"

"Owe you?"

"We don't owe you anything Crowley."

"I wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you three. You shoot me up. You make me a junkie. You keep me stashed away for months while my kingdom falls apart?!"

"What do you want?"

What he wanted was to basically be out of the dungeon and up where we were and that's where we brought him, handcuffing him to one of the chairs.

"It's not a very good scotch, is it?"

"Okay Crowley, we have gone through the records for the entire membership in 1958. Every single name matches the men who were killed."

"That would be the active membership, correct? Were you three dropped on your heads a great deal? Like I told you, rumor has it that a rogue member was tossed out on his arse. Does that make him 'active'? Seriously, how did you ever function without me? Well hello Miss Ichigatsu."

"Infamati et obliterati."

"Dishonored and forgotten."

"That must be it then." I remark before Dean opens the box and we search through the files until we come to Magnus.

"Wow. This guy was something."

"Tough name."

"Yeah, Cuthbert Sinclair. I'd have just gone with Magnus."

"Looks like he designed most of the warding that keeps the bunker safe."

"Says here he was named 'master of spells' right after he initiated."

"I guess his work got a little crazy. The leadership called it 'eccentric' and 'irresponsible'."

"Good. So these are the projects that he proposed the last two years he was here. Look at this...rejected, rejected, rejected."

"So difficult. Brilliant, ahead of your time, despised for it. Trust me, I know."

"Formal separating from men of letters...April 1956."

"He missed the massacre."

"I never knew his name, but I heard someone was out. Did my damndest to find him. Thought he might be my way inside this joint."

"So where'd you look?"

Instead of telling us, he proceeded to show us. All we had to do was drive a bit and walk through the woods to this opening.

"Here? This is where your demons tracked him to?" I ask.

"Exact spot. My boys could never find him. I'm sensing nothing, so if he's here, he's warded up to the gills."

"Well, he was a genius at it, right? Sure as hell ain't gonna be found by a bunch of demons."

"Oh, like he's gonna open his heart to you lot, because you're such prizes?"

"Better...we're legacies."

"Well they are anyway." I remark.

"Alright, if he's so bent on hiding, maybe he's watching. Give it a shot."

"Cuthbert Sinclair...uh, Magnus...whatever. We're Sam and Dean Winchester, Henry Winchester's grandsons."

"And men of letters ourselves."

"We know what happened back in the day. We don't necessarily agree with it. We figured...maybe you want to tell your side of the story."

Just when they thought nothing was happening, this cloud of smoke and such rose from the ground.

"Uh...guys? Look."

"You stay here with Crowley."

"But..."

"Brooke...stay here. Keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't go anywhere, leaving us in the middle of nowhere." Dean says, before him and Sam go through and disappear.

What happened was after going through that door, they were in this house with a woman singing in French over some speakers or whatever.

"Which way?" They pick a way, coming to a staircase, and then they're attacked by vampires, but kill them instantly after a fight.

"Bravo! Well done. Sorry about all the theatricality. I just wanted to see what you two were made of."

"So, what, are we underground?"

"No. No, my fortress is right where you were standing. But it's invisible."

"Then you must be Cuthbert Sinclair."

"Ugh. I haven't gone by that moniker in, oh 57 years now."

"Well, you're looking good for a guy pushing...90?"

"Well, thanks sport. There's a spell for damn near everything. I am impressed though. You did exactly what you should've done. Though I am gonna miss those two from my zoo."

"Your zoo?"

"Oh, gentlemen, you are in the midst of the greatest collection of supernatural rarities and antiquities on the planet. I'm sorry. Did you say that you were men of letters? I thought that whole thing died out after '58."

"Well, we are...we are legacies. But actually, uh...we're hunters."

"Hunters? Wow! Hunters. With the key to the kingdom! The boys must be spinning in their graves. Damn snobs. Bunch of librarians if you ask me. Although I was always fond of Henry. I was his mentor, you know? Yeah, till the squares gave me the boot. Yeah. 'Course, he came here to visit me, in secret. Called out to me, same as you did. Oh, yes. Quite the wild hair, your grandfather was."

"Listen Magnus, uh...we got ourselves a little situation. Abaddon, the last Knight of Hell, is looking to up her pay grade and take over the place."

"Things never change, do they? I kept telling the boys over and over again...I would say, 'we could stop all this. We could rid the world of monsters once and for all if we just put our minds to it'. But, 'oh no', they said. 'No, no, no. It's not our place. We're here to study. We're here to catalog'."

"Yeah, yeah, no, we get it. They're uh...geeks."

"Mm."

"But she can be stopped. But we need something that we hear you have...the first blade."

"Hmm. I see. Interesting. But if you'd really done your homework, you would know that it's absolutely useless, unless of course you're possessing the mark..."

"The mark of Cain."

"Oh my. How did you come by that?"

"Listen, if Abaddon takes over, the one thing she wants more than anything is to make hell on Earth. Not even you can escape that."

"And they say all hunters are morons. It's right there behind you gentlemen."

"Listen, if you're serious about taking action, this...this is taking action. You loan us that blade, and we will stop the bitch."

"Hmm. Let me think about it. Alright, I've thought about it. Abi, ab oculis meis!" He chants, blows some dust and Sam is gone.

Crowley and I decided, well it was more like myself, had decided that it was better to wait by the car, rather than in the open field. I didn't particularly want to be there with Crowley and it was sometimes unbearable because he would always want to strike up a conversation about Dean and I's relationship. And I wasn't going to share details, let alone with him. But just then we hear rustling in the trees and bushes and it was Sam.

"Sam? What's wrong? What're you doing back? Where's Dean?" I question.

"Magnus has Dean."

"What?"

"What did you do with my brother?" Dean asks Magnus.

"Don't worry. He's fine. But I did what an good collector would do...I separated the ordinary from the extraordinary. I had the first blade. And now I have the mark of Cain to complete the set."

"Yeah well, problem is, it's attached. So how about you loan me the blade and I take care of business?"

"Dean, I am offering you the moon here...to be part of the greatest collection of all time, to be young forever. Let me teach you my secrets. Hmm? Be my companion. I have to be honest with you, it has gotten lonely here over the years."

"When you were saying any of that, did it feel at all creepy? Yeah. I'm just gonna grab the blade and go."

"One little design flaw to the place...no windows, no doors."

"Well, in that case...I'll just make my own."

"Shen ti ran shao!"

"Hey. Ahh." Dean remarks and drops his blade as it gets extremely hot.

"Tricky little spell, that first one, right? Chinese. Ah. Cheap magician's trick on that one...picked your pocket. Nice gun. Welcome to the collection Dean."

In the meantime, we were trying to figure out a way we could get back into the invisible fortress to save Dean. So Sam goes into the trunk where everything is stored. And of course, Crowley was being nosy, like always.

"You mind?" Sam says, taking out the knife to make him back off.

"Who would have thunk it, eh, Moose...you, me and Brooke, same team, in the trenches. When this is over, we can get matching tattoos."

"Thanks, but no thanks." I scoff.

"Just to be clear, Crowley, we are not on the same anything. By the way, since the place is warded, your powers are useless, which means you are useless, even more so than usual."

"You're gonna need another set of hands when you get in there, unless you have other volunteers in mind."

"Thanks. Pass."

"If memory serves me, I'm the one who helped your brother and your lover so to speak, find Cain so that we could find the blade, so that Dean could receive the mark." He says to Sam and myself. "I'm the one who flushed that lout Gadreel out of your noggin. So lately, I've seen more playing time than you two."

"Crowley, will you please shut the hell up?"

"Oh, you're a real sorry piece of work. You know that? Holed up in here, doing nothing. You bitch about the men of letters. You're way worse." Dean remarks as he's been tied to a pillar at the hands of Magnus.

"Should we fire it up? What do you say?" Magnus asks about the blade and the mark.

"Go to hell."

"Oh, come on Dean. This is the object of your quest. Tell me Henry Winchester's grandson isn't curious to see if it works. Give me your hand. Give me...your hand." He demands, forcing the blade into his hand and the mark starts to glow.

"That's it."

It gets so bad to the point where he has to drop it.

"Good. Next time, it'll be easier. You'll get used to the feelings, even welcome them."

It actually took until nightfall to find out how we could get into the fortress.

"Here's something. Apparently, he wanted to make the entire men of letters bunker invisible. All physical points of entry were to be eliminated, and entrance would only be gained...by spell. Oh. We're gonna need some things. You actually might turn out to be useful, Crowley."

"You'll come to understand Dean...nothing can stop us. Anything, anyone we want to own or destroy is ours."

"Well, how about this Magnus? How about I take a knee? Then what are you gonna do? Huh? You gonna kill me? 'Cause without this thing on my arm, that blade's nothing but a hunk of bone with teeth."

"Hmm. Well, I'm not asking you for your cooperation. I'm just taking it. Mentem tuam ac voluntatem adsumo. Interesting effect, huh? All thought, all will just...drained out of you. I do this enough, you'll be read for whatever I have in mind."

After Crowley had gone to get the ingredients we needed for the spell, Sam and I put it all together and mixed it.

"I did good, eh Moose? Everything on the list. You're welcome."

"Remember...stay close, do what I say, and shut the hell up."

"I'm growing on you, aren't I?"

"Ingressum domi dona mihi."

With that, the door appears and the three of us head inside.

"Love what he's done with the place."

That's when we hear footsteps and find a place quickly to hide. It happens to be Magnus, and Sam sneaks up on him, putting the blade to his throat.

"Take me to my brother."

"Sam! No!" Dean exclaims when Sam comes into the room with Magnus.

But it's not really Magnus, as he's already in the room with Dean. The other Magnus changes into another guy, but gets killed initially.

"Shape shifter. You see? There are benefits to keeping a zoo."

Sam as well gets tied up himself, so now both him and Dean are captured.

"You know, I discarded you far too quickly, Sam. You're way more valuable than I thought you were. Why would I knock myself out trying to sap your will? I think Sam here will get you to see things my way."

"Magnus, I swear to God..."

"What? What are you gonna do? What is he gonna do? Huh?" He asks before cutting Sam's face. "Yeah look, look Sam, I'm not gonna kill you. Of course not."

While he's talking to Sam, Crowley and I sneak in.

"But I am gonna make you suffer unimaginably, alright?"

He cuts Sam's face again, and there's a smashing sound, and I get Dean free quickly. Magnus looks over to see him gone. He goes to kill Sam, but Dean comes up and cuts his head off with the first blade. Crowley comes into view and Dean looks at him, while still holding the blade, his hand shaking.

"Dean? Dean. Hey, it's over."

"Drop the blade Dean, drop the blade."

"He's dead. Dean! Drop the blade."

He does so and he goes back to normal for now.

"Dean? You alright?" I look at him with concern.

"Let's just get out of here."

And that's just what we did, using a spell to get out and head back through the woods and back to the car.

"Brilliant. I must say. I'm speaking of myself of course. All you three managed to do was get trussed up. Combine a little derring-do on my part, a little dumb muscle from squirrel, a little bleeding from Moose...happy ending. Roll credits."

Just then we stop, finding the car opened up.

"What in the hell happened? We left the doors closed."

"No. No! Come on. What the hell?"

"That's sulfur...demons."

"Abaddon's. Well, she's just one jump behind us. Guess she couldn't find Magnus' joint, either. What about the trunk?"

"Safe. Warding kept them out."

"Demon mitts all over my baby." Dean says as he closes the doors, noticing the scratchings on the doors. "Oh, come on! Oh, now they're keying cars?!"

"Bitches." I grumble.

"What language is that?"

"It's Enochian. The message isn't for you. It's for me. Be afraid. Your queen. She thinks I'm losing my grip."

"Dean. Dean. Listen, you said Crowley was only useful till we got the blade. We got the blade."

We then turn around, only to be throw against the side of the car anyway, the blade being dropped.

"You know, you lot, I'm in debt to you. You forced sobriety on me, and now I can see the situation for what it is. Dean, you are quite the killing machine. And it occurs to me that Abaddon is not the only name on your list. My name must be up there, as well."

He then motions with his finger and he obtains the blade.

"It's no good to you without me." Dean remarks.

"Yes, but as long as I have it, it's no good to you. Now, this is the way it's going to go...I'll hang on to old donkey teeth here until such time as you locate Abaddon. Then you'll destroy her. You're right, Moose. You can't trust me. But sadly, I can't trust you either."

And with that, he's gone and we're released.

"Now what are we gonna do?"


	18. Mother's Little Helper

**Milton, Illinois**

A husband was at home watching TV, when his wife came home with dinner and flowers.

"What's on the menu tonight?"

"Meatloaf."

"Really? Again?"

"I wish you wouldn't say that. You know how hard I work all day, and yet you criticize me."

She then takes the candle holder off the mantle and hits him a couple times in the face, damaging his eye to the point where he couldn't see.

"So, yes. We're having meatloaf. With potatoes...and broccoli...and lots of good things." She adds, continuing to hit him in the face, initially killing him in the end.

**Men of Letters Bunker**

"Hey."

"Hey."

"You catch any shut eye last night?"

"Nope."

"Guess I'm driving then."

"Driving where?"

"Caught wind of a case online. A first grade teacher came home and killed her husband."

"Well, maybe she snapped. Ankle biters can do that to you."

"Dude, she pounded him into ground chuck."

"Ew." I make a face.

"So, what are you thinking?"

"Best guess...possession."

"Why don't you go?"

"Dean, look. I want to find Abaddon too, but we've been combing through this stuff for days."

"Well, maybe we missed something."

"And maybe there are better ways to spend our time than just spin our..."

"Maybe we don't have time."

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah? See, because ever since you killed Magnus, you've been acting...sort of...obsessed."

"Well, maybe because I want an end to all this. Maybe because if we find Abaddon, then Crowley ponies up the first blade, and we kill her and him both. So, what you call being 'obsessed,' I call doing my job."

"Okay, um...I get it, Dean. I'm just checking in."

"I'm fine."

"Alright. Hit me up if you find anything. Brooke, coming with?"

"Uh..." I trail off, looking over at Dean who seems well to absorbed in the book he's been looking at for the past few minutes. "...yeah. Just let me grab my bag."

"Meet you in the car." He nods, heading out.

I nod in agreement, before getting up from where I was sitting, going over and standing next to Dean.

"Call me if you need anything alright?" I say, before kissing his cheek and walking off to the room to grab my things to meet Sam in the car so we could get going.

After we were in the city, and dressed in our appropriate wear as the FBI agents, we went to the police station.

"It says here in your report that you were the first on the scene?"

"Yes sir. I found Mrs. Young sitting next to her husband covered in his blood."

"Now, was her husband abusive?"

"Ric? Oh, no. Not at all. I mean, he could be a stubborn S.O.B., but can't we all?"

"Ah. Anything else, uh, weird that maybe you felt was too odd to include?"

"Like?"

"Like, did you smell sulfur?"

"Why would I smell sulfur?"

"No reason. Thank you." I say as he held the door open for the cell blocks.

"What about Karen's eyes? You notice anything strange?"

"Actually agent, they uh, pretty much looked like eyes. Oh, lord."

That's when we see that she had hung herself with the bed sheets in her cell. And there was a bunch of symbols and words written in her blood on the walls. The coroner was then called in to dispose of her body.

"I don't get this. Karen and Ric were two of the most ordinary people you'd ever meet."

"Did she go anywhere on the day of the murder?"

"It was Saturday. Uh...a quick trip to the grocery store. That's about it."

After the weird happenings we found at the police station, Sam called Dean.

"How's Mrs. Manson doing?"

"Dead. Hung herself in her cell."

"Lovely. The demon smoke out?"

"If it was a demon. I mean there was no sulfur, no emf anywhere. And everyone who saw her just before she gutted her husband said she was totally fine."

"What are you still doing there? This sounds like a case of the crazies to me."

"Well, if nothing kicks up by morning, we're out of here. How's research going?"

"It's going. Alright. Well uh...good luck." Dean says before hanging up.

Dean then starts flashing back to when he got the mark of Cain and when he killed Magnus and how he felt with the blade in his hand. He then takes his phone and makes a call on it, but hangs up. Meanwhile a young kid was walking along a dark road alone, on the phone with his girlfriend.

"Uh huh. Yep. No. I know. I'm sorry. No, I'll make it up to you. Look, I'm trying to get there babe. But I got into a fight with my mom. Oh, I think I got a bite. Yeah, a van is pulling up. Let me roll. I love you. Bye. Oh, hey! I didn't know this was your ride, Mr. Richie."

"Lets get you out of the cold."

"Thanks. It's freezing out there. Hey, what...what are you doing?! Get off me! No!"

Bright light them emerges in the van as he screams. But with us, we went to a local diner for some food as it's been a long day.

"Can I get you two anything else?"

"Uh, this is great, thank you."

"If we need anything else we'll let you know." I nod.

"Be with you in a minute Bill." The waitress says to the kid that walks in.

After he walks in, he sits and sees a plate of leftover food and takes a handful of the rice that was on the plate.

"Billy, what are you doing? Your mother raise you in a barn?"

"Don't talk to me like that!"

"Hey. Take it easy. She's working hard."

"No kidding."

"What's eating you?"

He just looks at her and knocks over a glass, it shattering all over the floor.

"You. My mom. Them."

"Buddy...give it a rest."

"Billy? Billy. I'm gonna call your mom, have her come fetch you."

"No, you're not." He says before he grabs her hand and a knife and stabs it right through.

He goes for the fork, but Sam stops him and then we help with getting the knife out of her hands before the paramedics are called and the police show up. The next day we're in that police station where the kid was locked up and then there was humming coming from another cell. In another cell a man had blood all over his hands and wrote on the wall with it.

"So, tell me what's happening here."

"I was hoping you'd tell me. You're the ones that mentioned weird."

"Now, where did they all come from?"

"Oh, they're all locals. Four of the straightest arrows you'd ever meet. Apparently, they've been acting like this for days."

"Do they share anything in common? Church, school? Uh, book club?"

"Not of my knowledge. Oh, I met the kid's girlfriend. She said he was hitching a ride when a van picked him up, and that's the last she heard of him. Whatever that's worth."

Once the sheriff leaves, since he had a phone call, we head back to the cells. More specifically the one with the kid in it. I keep an eye out just in case the sheriff comes back while Sam takes out some holy water and splatters some on the kid and he kind of goes a little crazy, but it doesn't really affect him.

"What are you Billy?"

"Clear."

"Of?"

"Everything."

"Why are you doing this?"

"You think there's a 'why'? No. It's because I want to. And I can."

After getting basically nothing out of him that explains what's going on, we left the cell blocks and went and looked through some files in the main area of the station. The sheriff brings over some more things for us to look at, concerning everything.

"Grocery store surveillance pics."

"Great. Thank you."

While I was sitting there, I had called Dean to let him know what was going on.

"Hey."

"Well, kind of took a long time to answer Dean."

"Yeah, I'm working. You and Sam got anything?"

"We're not sure. But there's a handful of other people are acting out too."

"How?"

"Same as the woman. Aggressive, violent and impulsive."

"Sounds like you're in a Gold's Gym."

"Dean, let's be serious for a minute here. Okay? The littlest things are setting them off. Kind of like..."

"...me." Sam says as he realizes something.

"Sam."

"Sam?"

"Yeah. Here you can talk to him, he can explain it better I think." I say as I hand off the phone to Sam.

"Remember soulless me?"

"Yeah, how could I forget? But you weren't out of control like these people."

"Yeah, well, maybe everyone has a different reaction to losing their soul."

"Possible. So, what? A crossroads demon making deals and taking people's souls?"

"No, I don't think so. I mean, it's not as if these people are winning the Lotto."

"Okay. Uh, well, that was my best swing."

"I hope not Dean. We could really use your help down here. Dean?"

"Yeah, no, I...I heard you. I just, uh...I'm getting close Sam. I can't drop the ball on Abaddon right now."

"Alright. Be safe."

"You're lying to Sam like he's your wife, which kin of makes me your mistress." Crowley remarks.

Sam and I however were busy going through the surveillance camera pictures that the sheriff gave us.

"Now, listen to me young man. Those demons are back. I'm telling you, it's happening all over again."

"Demons?"

"Yes! Demons. Are you deaf?"

"Yes, ma'am. You know what? We're gonna take care of those demons right away. Now, do you need a ride home or something?"

"Don't patronize me, you little turd."

"Hey, you know what? We can take it from here. Um, agents Leiter and Gram. Please."

We bring her over to the table we were at, and Sam gets her some coffee.

"Here you are."

"Thank you."

"Sure. Now, why don't you, uh, tell us all about these demons, Ms. Wilkinson?"

"Please, call me Julia. It's very simple agents. They...they came to Milton."

"And?"

"I say 'demons,' and you both don't bat an eye, when everyone else around here thinks I'm nuts on toast."

"Maybe we're just a bit more, uh, open minded than most."

"Maybe. You're one of them aren't you?"

"Sorry. One of who?"

"Men of Letters, and that would make you a Woman of Letters. They came here in 1958."

"They...came here? Men of Letters?"

"Oh yes. It was different then. I was different. They were a lovely couple."

**_Flashback_**

_"Sister Julia, please answer the door."_

_"Yes, Mother Superior."_

_"Good evening sister. We're here from the office of the inquisition."_

"What do you want?" Dean asks Crowley as he's setting up the pool balls.

"You tell me Romeo. You rang. Let me guess...you butt dialed me?"

"Whatever the hell that is. Either way, we done here?"

"Actually, long as I'm here, last time we chitchatted, we agreed that you were gonna line up carrot top."

"Yep, well...I'm on it."

"Unless Abaddon likes 10 cent wings, stale beer, and the clap, I doubt that she's here."

"Go to hell."

"Oh, if only. What's going on with you, huh? You call me, you hang up. You want Abaddon, you don't want Abaddon. You want the blade, you don't want the blade. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're stalling. Just between us girls, how did you feel when you sunk the first blade into Magnus' head?"

"Not half as good as I'm gonna feel when it's yours."

"Love it when you talk dirty. You know what I think? I think you felt powerful...virile...and afraid."

"Afraid?"

"Don't scam a scam artist, darling. You're stalling 'cause you're scared."

"They gave false names, but later I learned that the man's name was Henry." Julia continues to tell us her story.

"Henry Winchester?"

"Never got a last name."

"And what about the woman?"

"Josie. Did you two know them?"

"Yes, uh...sort of. It's complicated."

"I'm an ex-nun sweetie. Complicated is my middle name."

"Now, what were they here to investigate?"

"Sister Mary Catherine. She killed two people before jumping from the bell tower. So I took 'em to see Mother Superior and Sister Agnes.

_"Time is of the essence, Mother...Superior. The cardinal's meeting with the Holy Father first thing in the morning, and he wants a report."_

_"Our beloved abbey is open to you Father. Sister Julia here will be your guide."_

_"Where would you like to begin?"_

_"Sister Mary Catherine's sleeping quarters, please."_

_"Sister Mary Catherine's room it is."_

_"I hate nuns."_

_"Why, because she answered me and not you?"_

_"No, because I went to Catholic school and I have a lot f pent up anger."_

_"We have no time for such pettiness."_

_"What's got your boxers all in a bundle?"_

_"This. Why are we out in the field?"_

_"It's called learning on the job. And you know damn well this is the last assignment before we are full members."_

_"Therein lies the probem. As our initiation grows closer, I...I worry that this might be a selfish endeavor on my part."_

_"Selfish. How?"_

_"If anything were to happen to me, what of John? Millie?"_

_"They'd be proud to know that you answered the call."_

_"No. My wife would be a widow, and my son fatherless. I don't expect you to understand. You don't have a fam..I'm sorry Josie. I didn't mean it that way."_

_"I know Henry. You're a good man. Millie is lucky to have you."_

_"Here we are. The...blood wouldn't come off."_

_"So, we're assuming demonic possession here, correct?"_

_"Or a linguist gone mad." Josie says about this symbol carved into the wall._

_"It looks ancient. Zapoqra or Sanskrit?"_

_"No. It...it's pre-Enochian. A crest of some sort. Kni...Knights of Hell? What is that?"_

_"Trouble."_

"Knights of Hell? What were they doing there?" Sam asks.

"I'm not sure of anything I saw that night. We couldn't leave our room after 10:00. Mother Superior forbade it."

_With Sister Julia in bed reading, there was some footsteps out in the hall and she went to find out what was going on. There was some thudding, and she saw a girl being dragged up the stairs by one of the nuns, and her eyes were black as night._

"I woke up in a dark place, tied to a chair. There were others. They were taken. I was so scared. I prayed and prayed, but God didn't answer my prayers. Henry and Josie did."

_"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus..."_

_"Ergo, draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica."_

_"Adjuramus te. Et secta diabolica!"_

_"Ut ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos!"_

_Just then there were footsteps. _

_"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio!"_

_"Henry!"_

_"You hunters are always sticking your noses in where they don't belong."_

_"Hunters? Please."_

_"Then what are you? Quickly dear. Before this one pays for your stubbornness!"_

_"We are preceptors...beholders, chroniclers of all that which man does not understand."_

_"A woman amongst the Men of Letters?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Well, ain't that a blast."_

_"You do know what we're capable of, demon?"_

_"Yes. I know what you think you're capable of, but perhaps I should see for myself."_

_"Wait. What are you doing?"_

_"I'm trading up from this bag of bones to Mr. Dreamy here. Then I can study your kind real close."_

_"Don't or I'll..."_

_"Or what?"_

_"Take me, not him."_

_"You're joking."_

_"I could be more useful to you. People underestimate a woman."_

_"No. That's not it. You love him. He loves you too, you know. Like a sister."_

_"Please...spare him. Take me. You have my permission."_

_"You've been very entertaining my dear. But I don't need your permission. Abaddon takes what she wants. And right now, she wants everything."_

_With that, she transfers to Josie's body._

_"You're going to study the Men of Letters?"_

_"For a moment. And then I'll destroy them."_

_"And what of all this?"_

_"Keep it going until I return. Now play dead. Henry! Are you okay? We did it. We stopped the demons."_

"Abaddon. Did you ever see exactly what she was doing down there?"

"No, but whatever it was she was doing at St. Bonaventure, it seems to be happening again."

"St. Bonaventure? That was the convent's name?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Where is it?" Sam asks after he goes back to one security camera photo he was looking at, noticing the name on a van parked outside the market.

"On the outskirts of town. It's been closed for years."

In the meantime, Dean was still at the bar, and so was Crowley.

"I love this. I really do. Couple of cold ones, a kind jukebox...good and evil, bro-in down."

"Shut your pie hole, Crowley."

"Yeah, you said that already. Look, I merely suggested you might be a bit scared."

"Yeah, no. I heard you the first time. You still don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"I know that Cain gave you his mark for a reason. And I know that rather than embracing it, rather than looking at it as the gift that it is, you're sulking like you lost your knuffle bunny. Why are you fighting what you really are?"

"I'm a hunter."

"Who's a chip off the old mark of Cain."

"No. When I kill, I kill for a reason. I'm nothing like Cain."

"Nothing like...who are you talking to? I know you're not talking to me."

"Eat me."

"I saw you. I saw the two of you together. Nothing like Cain? What's in that bottle? Delusion? I'm really starting to worry about you, Dean."

"Yeah, well, why don't you worry about yourself?"

"I will. 'Cause like it or not, we're in this together. Your problems, my problems...our problems."

"Where you going now?"

"I'm going to go water the lily. Care to cross streams? So serious."

"Next time, I'll be easier. That's it. Good. You'l get used to the feelings, even welcome them."

That's when Dean looks over at the guy a few bar stools down and notices the rosary he has in his hands. The guy takes out a knife and gets up from the stool, Dean following close behind and he stops him at the doors to the bathrooms.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hey. I know what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking I'd like to take a leak, so move."

"I'm Dean Winchester. And I know a hunter when I see one. You don't want to do what you're about to do."

"And why's that?"

"Because you're packing a knife to a demon fight, and you don't stand a chance."

"Then I'll go down swinging."

"Hey, hey, hey. Listen to me. Any other day, i'd be right there with you brother. I would, okay? But you got to trust me on this one."

"Or you could grow a pair and come with."

"You ever taken on a demon before? Yeah. Well, trust me when I say that when he's done with you, he's gonna go after your family. He's gonna go after your friends. Hell, he'll go after your prom date. So, if you want to do that, if you want to damn anyone and everyone you've ever loved in the slightest chance that you could win, then by all means pal. You go right ahead."

"I got a kid sister. She don't deserve that."

"What's your name?"

"Jake."

"Good to meet you Jake."

"Thanks."

"I'll see you around. Come on. We got to go." Dean says to Crowley as he knocks on the Men's Room door.

Sam and I in the meantime made our way to St. Bonaventure, and he notices the van from the pictures parked inside the gate. Dean is outside the bar and waits for Crowley to come out.

"Demons don't take leaks. Next time you want to shoot up, why don't you find a better excuse?"

"Guilty as charged."

"What happened? I thought you were cleaning up your act."

"Well, I was going to, but then after very little soul searching, I decided to embrace my addiction. What about you? Takes a junkie to know a junkie. You just want to touch that precious again, don't you?"

"I want to kill Abaddon. That's what I want. So whatever happens with this blade, I can't worry about that."

"Sure. Whatever you got to tell yourself so you can sleep better at night."

"Look, what I want, what I fear, none of that means squat. Because this is the one chance that we have to kill Abaddon. So, I'm all in, no matter what the consequences."

"So the plan remains the same?"

"I find her, you bring the blade."

"It's a date."

"For a second there, I thought he made me."

"He has other things on his mind."

"But he did do exactly what you said he would. He saved you."

"Of course he saved me. We're besties. And now he's ready."

Sam and I make it inside of the convent, looking around at everything left behind once it closed down. We see the entrance to the basement and make our way down there. That's when we see jars with light coming from them.

"Sam! Look out!" I exclaim as a demon comes up behind him, but the demon ends up getting stabbed anyway and killed.

But that's when I was thrown to the side and into a wall and Sam was thrown into some boxes.

"Souls are a very precious and fragile thing. Break one of those, and them little buggers fly right back home. We can't have that, now can we?"

"So, after all these years, you're still doing Abaddon's dirty work, huh, Agnes?"

"Would you believe it's gotten even dirtier? Used to be folks believed in the church. Heck, they way they would come strolling in here, looking for God. It was like fish in a barrel, really. But times change. You can blame your perverts for that. Now I'm riding shotgun in some smelly van with a handyman and tricking any half-wit I can lay my hands on. But it's worth it."

"Because...stealing souls is so noble."

"Stealing souls is winning!"

"Winning what?"

"Hell's crown, nimrod. You think Abaddon is just gonna sit there while those pantywaisted demons refuse to pick a side?! And so she made a plan...if you can't convince 'em, make 'em."

"The souls...she's turning them into demons." I state after it hits me.

"A demon army, unbeatable, loyal only to her."

"Well, uh...at this rate...should only take a couple million years. Have fun with that."

"You think I'm the only one doing this? We have factories spread throughout. Worry not, though. Victory is nigh. And we'd like you both to be on our team. Recruitment is easy. I just have to rip your souls out of your body."

"Regna terrae, ccantate deo..." Sam and I both start to chant.

"Please!"

He then takes out his phone and plays the recording of the exorcism, and the phone gets knocked away. I take the chance and dash for it. I hold it in my hand as she starts to slowly make her way towards me, giving Sam the chance to stick the knife in her and kill her and I end the recording. We then go over and let the souls out of the jars so they can return to their rightful bodies. The following day, we went back to the police station and Julia was just leaving.

"You know, um, can we ask you something?"

"If it's for a date, I'm sorry. I never see anyone under 65. Too much drama. Spit it out."

"After witnessing what you did, why didn't you warn Henry about Abaddon?"

"I became a nun because I wanted to help people. Make a difference. But they never prepare you. They never tell you how to act in the face of true evil."

"Thank you, sister."

"For the safety of all those involved, it's important that we keep what happened here today...quiet."

"Of course."

"Soon after, I left the order."

"Why?"

"Because I was ashamed. I had betrayed our flock, God, myself. It was and still is my greatest shame."

"Well what you shared with us saved lives. And we couldn't have done that without you. Take care."

"You too, Sam. And you too, Brooke."

With that, we walk back over to the car and get in, driving off.

"You okay Henry?"

"Better. We saved lives today. We made a difference."

"Hmm."

"This...our work...it's a noble calling, isn't it? I mean, yes, there's risk, but, gosh. I feel the fool for doubting it for even a second."

"Hmm."

"And you, Josie?"

"Me? Well, I feel like a whole new person."

Later that day, we got back to the bunker and Dean was doing more research, kind of how we left him.

"Still plugging away?"

"Like a dog with a bone. You?"

"You were right."

"About what?"

"Finding Abaddon ASAP. She's mining souls."

"Why?"

"Demon army." I remark.


	19. Meta-Fiction

_"What makes a story work? Is it the plot, the characters, the text? The subtext? And who gives a story meaning? Is it the writer? Or you? Tonight, I thought I would tell you all a little story. And let you decide."_

We all were in the bunker, Dean taking a shower. He looks at himself in the mirror, before taking a look at the mark of Cain on his arm.

"Yeah, alright. Thanks Carlos. Listen, you uh...if you catch wind of any other demon activity, give me a holler, alright? Appreciate it."

"Anything?" Dean asks.

"I guess there's demon activity."

"Really?"

"Yeah. A dozen demon-related cases, people without souls acting out, but..."

"But no sign of Abaddon."

"Exactly."

"Looks like she's vanished."

"Well, we just got to keep digging."

"Right. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get to work."

"Alright."

Meanwhile, Cas is in this boiler room basement type place, and he notices some blood on a door and enters the room. There he sees thousands of dead angels, an a symbol on the wall. He approaches it, and takes a picture of it with...yes his phone. Then a woman comes up behind him ready to kill him, but he stops her.

"Please...please don't! Don't hurt me."

"I'm not gonna hurt you. It's okay. What's your name?"

"Hannah."

"Hannah, what happened here? Yeah, I...I heard it too. What was it?"

"I don't know. It uh, it sounded familiar. It sounded like Heaven. It's so srange down here. I uh, followed the tone and found so many of my brothers and sisters had, as well. It felt safe here. And then the doors slammed shut and a strange angel arrived. He said he worked for the new God."

"For Metatron?"

"Mmhmm. He made us an offer...join Metatron, fight for him, an those that did would ne day be allowed to return to Heaven."

"Return to Heaven?"

"I didn't believe him either. But he said he would take us home. Some angels joined him. My friends and I refused, and uh..."

"I'm sorry for your loss. For all our loss." He says before healing her.

"You're Castiel, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"You took a stand against Bartholomew. Are you going to help us, lead us against Metatron?"

"I'm no leader."

"But you..."

"I am no leader, Hannah. But I will find Metatron, and I will make him pay."

"Let me help you. Let us help you."

"You are safer away from me. Now, this angel who attacked you, what was his name?"

"Gadreel? Gadreel is working for Metatron?"

"Makes perfect sense." I remark.

"For how long?"

"I don't know."

"So, Metatron made Gadreel kill Kevin?"

"It would explain a lot, and there have been no new prophets, which Metatron could have fixed to his advantage."

"And Gadreel said that angels are returning to Heaven? How? I thought that the spell was irrevrsible."

"That's what Crowley said. Look, let's just find Gadreel and...and beat some answers out of him."

"Yeah, here's something to start with that. Uh...hold on, I'm uh...sending you a photo of the symbol that drew all the angels in."

"Okay. Got it."

"What is it?"

"It's acting as some kind of angel siren. I think it's a spell. The ingredients used to create it were very odd...griffin feathers, bones of a fairy. I've never seen it before."

"Yeah. Us either. Alright. Let us see what we can find."

"Honor Bar. What's honorable about a miniature bar in a motel room?"

"Everything."

"How are you, Dean?"

"I'm fine Case. How about you?"

"I miss my wings. Life on the road...smells."

"Hmm."

"Yeah. Listen, I got a match, and it's not from the lore...it's from police records. Looks like that symbol you found was spotted at a handful of crime scenes the last couple days, all multiple homicides."

"And where were these crime scenes?"

"Uh, Utah..Baker, Hill Valley."

"And I'm in Bishop's Falls, Utah."

"Also looks like most of the crime scenes were in industrial areas."

"Looks like Gadreel is heading North."

"What's the next big town?"

"There are two. It could be Auburn or Ogden."

"Alright, you take Auburn, we'll take Ogden...meet in the middle."

Cas goes to collect his stuff to go, but the electricity starts to go haywire.

"Didn't we work a case in Ogden?" Dean questions.

"Yeah. It was a...it was a witch situation, right?"

"Yeah."

"There was that kid in town that helped us, wasn't there?"

"Yes. We should call him, see if he's still in business."

"Yeah. What was his name?"

And of course, Gadreel walks into that shop where he was.

"Good afternoon?"

"It's afternoon?"

"I wonder if I may procure from you the feathers of a Griffin."

"Uh we got some off-the-menu items, but uh, this ain't Diagon Alley man."

"I saw the hunter signs on the door, young man. You have what I seek."

"Griffin feathers huh? Not exactly looking to trip the light fantastic are we?"

"Humans never cease to amaze me."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm curious...do you also have fairy bones? It does not matter what realm they were from."

"Griffins and fairies...the hell you hunting man?"

"Family."

"Mmkay. Let me see what we have here."

Cas has gotten his bag together and was on his way out when the electricity went haywire again. The TV in the room then turns on with 'Casa Erotica 14'. He goes to turn it off, but it doesn't.

"That's innapropriate."

_"Hello. Remember me, bucko?"_

"Gabriel."

_"I'm gonna take that as a yes."_

Cas then turns around to see him there in the room.

"I need your help, brother."

"I thought you were dead."

"Please. You can't take the trick out of the trickster."

"So, I assume you faked your own death?"

"And I assume you weren't let into Mensa while I was gone."

"Where have you been?"

"Ohhh, you know hither with a side of yon. I was hiding, captain side eyes, in the safest place in the Universe...Heaven. But then you and the other two stooges had to go and ruin Christmas, now, didn't you?"

"Sorry."

"Oh, cry me a river. Look...I dropped, I hid, I finally watched 'Downtown Abbey'. But then your BFF Metatron sent his minions out looking for me. Apparently, he thinks since I'm an archangel that I have extra juice."

"And that you're a threat?"

"Yeah, but I got hurt in the fall too, used most of my juice to get back into porn. That came out wrong. So did that. Uh, the point is, I've been on the run. But then, a few weeks ago, somebody started playing my song."

"The angel siren."

"No. The Horn of Gabriel...one of Dad's little party favors that I never got around to messing with. Metatron duh it up and started blowing, so I came out of hiding."

"Why?"

"There's safety in numbers. But Metatron was using it to trap angels, not unite them."

"It wasn't Metatron. It was his second in command...Gadreel."

"Gadreel? That old chestnut? Wow!"

"What do you want from me?"

"Your help, Columbo. I'm getting the band back together. We're going on the kill Metatron tour, and you're looking at the new front man."

By the time we got to that store where that guy works/owns, it was nightfall and it was raining.

"The lights are off."

"That's not the only thing. Sam." Dean motions to the door and that's when we make our way inside.

We go in slowly of course just in case and look around.

"Got an open box of feathers over here."

Sam then opens a door and almost jumps out of his skin when the guy is hanging on the back of the door, eyes burned out of his skull.

"Guys."

"Looks like Gadreel beat us here."

"We got to find Gadreel before he lights up the bat signal."

_This is Dean's other, other cell, so you must know what to do._

"Dean, it's me. I'm..."

"Ho, whoa, whoa, whoa! Hands free much? Both on the wheel. I'm precious cargo. Hey, what's up shorties? Remember me, the guy who died for your sins? No, not the cat with the beard and sandals...the hot one. Hey, thank you so much for the flowers and condolences...really meant a lot to the fam. Any old how, your boy toy and I are rolling our way towards your top-secret domicile. Ooh! Call to discuss. Those kooky kids."

"So you've been back for months. What have you seen out there?"

"After it was raining winged men, hallelujah? Well, you know...total nigh-biblical chaos, Crowley and Aba-douche duking it out. Good times. And then there's our peeps, scattered like confetti."

"There has been a lot of confusion."

"You think? Most angels aren't like us Castiel. They can't handle this whole free-will thing. They're sheep, drones. But us? We're different. We're rebels...one without a cause, one with."

"I'm just a soldier."

"Bitch, please. You've been God more often than Dad has."

"Yeah. Look how that worked out."

"Well, go ahead. Be a soldier all you want. I'm gonna need as many as I can find."

"Why are you doing this Gabriel?"

"I always run...from Dad, from the family. I don't want to run anymore. I want to do what I was meant to do...lead."

"Well, we need a leader. And I'm happy it's gonna be you."

"A little low on gas, aren't we? Ooh smell that cancer. Delicious! Uh...remember the minions of Metatron I mentioned?" Gabriel says, turning Cas' head towards the door, seeing them outside before he goes and locks the door.

In the meantime, we found where Gadreel was, or so, stumbled across him at least. Sam, Dean and myself split up.

"Cas, it's Sam again. Call us. We need your help."

That's when Gadreel comes out of the shadows, but we caught him.

"Hey douchebag." Dean says as he opens a lighter and then drops it, a ring of fire appearing around Gadreel.

"Remember me?"

"We'll never keep these guys out of here."

"I know. So...we fight."

"No. I fight. I lied before. I never watched 'Downtown Abbey'. I was just trying to fit in. Oh, an I do have some archangel juice left. I can hold these boneheads off long enough."

"Long enough for what?"

"For you to get out of here."

"No, I'm not leaving you."

"Yes, you are. Those guys will cut you to ribbons. But I can stall them long enough for you to amscray. And you can take my place."

"What are you talking about?"

"The angels need a leader, and it's got to be somebody like us...somebody different."

"No."

"I know you don't want this burden, Castiel. Neither do I."

"What if I fail again?"

"You won't. You can't."

"Thank you."

"Shut up."

Just then when Cas goes to put his blade away, he notices something. The inside of his jacket where he tore it earlier wasn't torn anymore.

"Haven't got all day, hotpants."

"Was any of this real?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Cas, go! So, what...we both die here?"

"No. You're already dead."

"Well. What gave it all away?"

"My coat was torn earlier today."

"Ah, crap. I really hate continuity errors."

"So, none of this is real, and I'm guessing I'm no longer in the motel."

"Here's the thing...none of it was real, but all of it was true."

"Whose truth...yours or Metatron's?"

"Just hear him out, would you? He's trying to help you."

"Really? How?"

"Sorry...didn't read the whole script, just uh, skimmed for my parts. Well, it's good to see you, old bean."

"Wait. Are you dead?"

He just snaps his fingers and Cas appears in this room, tied up while Metatron types away on his typewriter.

"What makes a story work?"

"If this is like looking into a fun house mirror for me, I cannot imagine what it is like for you."

"How long have you been working for Metatron?"

"I will not talk, and you cannot make me."

"Yeah?"

"I have been you, Sam Winchester. Your insides reek of shame and weakness."

That causes Sam to snap and punch Gadreel in the face.

"Sam, Sam, Sam! Sam. Come here."

"Tonight, I thought I'd tell you a little story...let you decide." Metatron says to Cas, before moving from his chair.

"That was my plan anyway. I guess that's where my story failed. This is 'the curious incident', eh, Inspector Gregory?"

"Who?"

"Inspector Gregory. Sherlock Holmes. Silver Blaze? You have been around since scaly things crawled out of the muck. Would it have killed you to pick up a book, watch a move? Here. I know it's a bit of a retcon, but it's gonna make this whole conversation a lot easier. I just gave you every book, movie, and TV show I have consumed in the last couple of millenia. Now do you understand that 'the universe is made up of stories, not atoms'?"

"I understand that that's a...a quote by Murial Rukeyser."

"Ah! It can be taught. Here are a few more lessons. First rule of writers club...steal from the best. Second rule? Every hero needs a villain."

"What are you talking about?"

"Hannah and her sisters...I set all that up, told Gadreel, 'slaughter all those who will not join my army, but let one live, one...to tell the tale'."

"Is it true? Can you bring angels back to Heaven?"

"Sorry. No spoilers. And you keep missing the point. You're supposed to lead the angels."

"I am not a leader Metatron."

"Apparently. So...I did my homework. The Winchester Gospels. Pulpy stuff. Gave me an idea though. You needed to be taught a lesson, and nobody teaches lessons better than good old Gabriel, a.k.a The Trickster. So...I started typing."

"And you did all this to make me a hero?"

"Ah, that's priceless. Um no. You are not the hero in this mess-terpiece. You are the villain. I'm the hero."

"He's not gonna crack that fast."

"No kidding." I nod in agreement.

"I know. Maybe you could hack him like you and Crowley hacked me."

"No, no, no, no. Crowley's the only one who can do that. And I'm in no mood to call that dickbag. We need Cas."

"Any word from him?"

"No. I tried him again. He hasn't called, he hasn't texted. I turned on the GPS on his phone. He's still in the same town where we talked to him last. "

"What the hell?"

"I don't know. You got to go find him."

"What, what?"

"You're too close to this, man."

"And what, you're not?"

"We're not at this five minutes, you're already going Liam Neeson on his ass. We got this."

"It's alright Sam. I know you want your revenge on him, but Cas is the only one who can help right now." I reassure him.

He nods, before handing over the blade an leaves.

"So, he acts tough, and you show kindness. Is that how this works?"

"No. See, I don't care whether you talk. You're gonna pay for what you did to him...and Kevin."

"Do you know why I didn't kill you after I stole your grace? I like you. Truly. Among all God's little windup toys, you were the only one with any spunk. I left you human because I was hoping you live happily ever after, but you screwed that up too. And now...uh, you leave me no choice. I mean, if you want to get back on board, fine, but you're gonna have to follow my script."

"Well based on your assessment, that doesn't sound like me."

"Lead the dumb, disenfranchised, rebellious angels against me Castiel. They will follow you. And they'll all die, but I'm gonna save a nice, warm seat up top for you. You will be saved."

"No."

"Mm. You're gonna make me do the hard pitch, aren't you? How's that um, stolen grace inside you working out?"

"It's fine."

"No. It's not. It's burning out. It's gonna burn you out. But I will give you an endless supply of rechargeable batteries. Deal?"

"Sorry to interrupt your writing sessions, sir, but something's happened."

"What's wrong?"

"It's Gadreel."

"Word around the campfire is, you let the snake into the garden, ruined it for all humanity."

"I set them free. I loved humanity!"

"Well, you sure got a funny way of showing it, asshat. Now, look, you tell us about this 'getting back into Heaven' crap and we'll end this quick. Otherwise, you can sit here and rot in those chains forever. Up to you."

"All your talk, all your bluster...you think you are invincible. The three of you against the world, right?"

"Damn straight."

"You really think Sam would do anything for you?"

"Oh I know he would."

"I have been in your brother's body Dean. He would not trade his life for yours."

"Well thanks for the rerun, pal. Sam's arleady told me all that crap. Hell, he's told me worse."

"He told you that he has always felt that way, that he thinks you are just a scared little boy who's afraid to be on his own because Daddy never loved him enough? And he is right, isn't he? Right to think you are a coward, a sad, clingy, needy..." He goes to say, but gets punched in the face.

"Keep it up!"

"...pathetic bottom-feeder who cannot even take care of himself, who woul rather drag everyone through the mud than be alone, who would let everyone around him die!"

That's when Dean turns around, the urge to kill in his eyes and he goes to kill Gadreel, and I go to stop him, but he stops on his own.

"Dean, we need him for information, don't."

"No. Do it. Do it! Kill me!"

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? That's what that whole speech was about? You're not afraid to die, are you? You're afraid to be left in these chains forever. Well, you can sit here and rot, you son of a bitch." He simply says before walking off.

"And just for your information Gadreel, I have yet to be the one to die, and I'm not gonna start now." I remark, before walking off myself.

Sam went to the motel where Cas was staying at, and pulled outside of where his room was. He goes up to the door and walks in. Dean and I in the meantime had walked off to some old bathrooms. When Sam got inside of the motel room, he saw everything that Cas had on the walls and saw his phone on the bed. Dean then takes some water and puts it on his face before looking in the mirror. Sam checks Cas' phone and sees the missed called, but sees Metatron when he turns around.

"Easy there tiger. I'm here to trade. You have something of mine, and I have something of yours."

"Dean, you okay?" I ask as he has pulled his sleeve up to look at the mark of Cain on his arm.

"Bring him here tomorrow, say...6:00-ish? If not, Castiel dies. No comebacks this time."

"An even trade?"

"I'm an entity of my word." With that he's gone.

That's when Dean basically storms out of the bathroom, leaving his phone behind.

"Dean! Dean, what are you doing?!" I call to him.

When he doesn't answer me, I grab his phone and rush out the door. A bit later, Sam pulls up and comes back inside and to where we were. Gadreel is gone from the chair and on the ground next to us.

"Dean? Dean! Dean. Hey! Are..are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you got to stop asking me that."

"I've been calling you. I mean, w-why didn't you, uh..

"He won't talk."

"I figured."

"He wanted to die, and I was gonna kill him. I was. But then I stopped 'cause I know we need him to talk."

"Dean, listen. Metatron has Cas."

"What?" I question.

"He's offering up a trade."

"We can't trust Metatron."

"Exactly."

"I know that. Obviously. But look, this is the first time we're gonna know for sure where Metatron is. Let's take Gadreel to the meet up, make the exchange, and then trap Metatron."

"Seems like a good idea." I nod.

"Then let's do it."

After we clean up, we load Gadreel into the car and then head out onto the road and to the motel where Metatron told Sam to meet him for the trade of Cas for Gadreel. And we ended up waiting longer than usual.

"He's late."

"Or he's not gonna show."

"Told you we couldn't trust him."

"Of course I'm gonna show. I was just waiting for you three to finish setting up your little trap for me. Uh...am I hitting my mark? Well, come on. Let's go. I'm waiting."

Dean throws the lighter on the ground to ignite the ring of fire around him. Metatron then starts to pant and wheeze, but then stops.

"Either of you bring s'mores? Holy fire always gives them a delightful minty aftertaste. Make a wish you three." He says before simply blowing out the ring of fire around him.

"Oh you've got to be kidding." I mumble.

"No, not kidding."

That's when Dean and Sam pull out their blades but get pushed against the car by him. A car then arrives, obviously it has Cas in it. He goes to the back and gets rid of the protection on the trunk before letting Gadreel out.

"Well, a deal is a deal."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I can. Because you, your little brother and your little girlfriend here and your fine, feathered friend and all those secrets you've got locked away in your bunker can't stop me. But I am gonna enjoy watching you try. It's gonna be a hell of a show. I'll see you around Castiel. Never forget I gave you a chance."

"Somebody want to tell me what the hell's going on here?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

"Metatron is trying to play God."

"Play God? Cas, he erased angel warding. He friggin' blew out holy fire. He is God. He's powering up with that angel tablet. How the hell are we suppose to stop this guy?"

"Alright, so what if there is a stairway to Heaven? We find it and get a drop on the guy.

"You want to sneak onto the death star and take out the emperor?"

"Okay, I...I'm not sure what a fictional battle station in space has to do with this, but if taking out the emperor means taking out Metatron, I'm on board."

"Wait, did you...did you just understand a death star reference?"

"Yeah, I think so. But I don't understand what that has to do with Heaven."

"It's halfway, I guess."

"You sure you're alright?"

"Yes. Are you? There's something different about you."

"I'm fine." Dean pats Cas on the shoulder, but he grabs his arm, revealing the mark of Cain.

"What have you done?"

"It's a means to an end."

"Damn it Dean."

"Look, you find Heaven, you drop a dime. Meantime, I got a Knight to kill."

"Be safe out there."

"You, too. Hey, Sam, Brooke...you keep an eye on him."

"Will do." I nod, before we both get into the car and drive off.

"Is the door secure?"

"Yes. The way home is safe."

"Thank you Gadreel."

"How did your play turn out?"

"Didn't quite turn out as I'd planned, but that is why we rewrite. That was God's problem, you know...he published the first draft. You got to keep at it till you get all your ducks in a row."

"Was the Winchesters and Brooke grabbing me part of your plan?"

"That was a surprise. But hey, what writer doesn't love a good twist? My job is to set up interesting characters and see where they lead me. The by-product of having well drawn characters is...they may surprise you. But I know something they don't know...the ending. How I get there doesn't matter as long as everybody plays their part."

The drive from the motel was a silent one of course. Cas returns to his room and rips down all the hunting stuff and changes into a suit, and he draws the angel siren, opens the door and there's a whole lot of angels waiting to follow him as he takes the leadership role.


	20. Alex, Annie, Alexis, Ann

Currently this girl was being brought in by the police to a local jail. She tries to run, but it's no use.

"Alright missy, calm down!"

"Let me go!"

"Calm down!"

"Let me out!"

_"Hey Frank, someone smashed the front window over at Dawson's Hardware...possible B&E. Need you to check it out."_

"Yeah copy that, but the bullpen's empty, and I got someone in holding."

_"Sheriff's heading to the station now. They won't be alone long."_

"Roger that. I'm heading out."

"Hey, don't leave me. Please."

He does end up leaving, and she's there alone. Hours later a door closes and she gets up to check it out, but it's not the officer.

"Cody."

"There you are, girl."

"How did you find me?"

"Come on. You don't really need to ask that, do you?"

"A-are the others with you?"

"Everyone was off on a hunt when I'd realized you'd run away. Figured I'd do you and them a favor and come take care of this before they even know we're gone."

"You can't get me in here."

He just chuckles and holds up the keys. He unlocks the door and walks inside.

"Cop sure was in a hurry to check out that 'B&E' I faked. Barely even saw me coming. I keep telling you...you can run and you can hide, but we will always find you."

He then bares his teeth before Jody shows up and beheads him. The next day, that's when we show up, because she called us.

"You three are a sight."

"Jody. How's the shoulder?"

"Eh, only aches when it rains. How've you three been?"

"Peachy."

"Great."

"Touch and go."

"I know the feeling."

"So, what you got for us?"

She opens the car trunk and we see the beheaded kid. We make sure no one is looking and Sam checks to see if it's a vamp.

"Yeah uh, that's a vamp alright."

"I don't know Sammy. Looks like Jody might not need our help anymore."

"Oh, they grow up too fast."

"Don't they?"

"Yeah, joke all you want. There's more where this came from."

"More?"

"My men brought in a runaway last night. There's no I.D. on her...nothing on her actually, except for a bus ticket out of Nebraska. Total Jane Doe. She won't even give me her name. Girl's basically feral. She's got zero manners, didn't even thank me for saving her. Anyhow, this thing went to plenty of trouble to get at her. And to her him tell it, the 'others' will want her at least as bad as he did."

"Sounds like a nest."

"Pretty much."

"Yeah."

"Nest? I'm guessing that's not half as cute and cozy as it sounds."

"Oh, I'm afraid not."

"It's bad, basically. But where is this girl?"

"Inside, I'll take you to her." She nods and walks to the station and we follow.

When we get there, she's put in a room.

"So gonna do a fang check on her just to be sure?"

"Safest way to go before questioning her."

I nod and we go in and introduce ourselves before Sam starts the fang check.

"Wilson, Fisher and Barnes? You three are FBI, then I'm Taylor Swift. That wasn't a dental I.D. It was a fang check. You're hunters."

"And you're alive because, uh hunters trained the sheriff. I think the first words out of your mouth should be a thank you. So, who were you to this vamp anyway? Hmm? What's so special about you? Is there a nest?"

"Sorry to interrupt. We got a match on her DNA." Jody says as she comes in for a second and we follow her out.

"Annie Jones. Reported abducted outside of Kenosha in '06. Raised by an elderly grandparent. No living kin. You think the vamps are the ones who took her?"

"Eight years is a long time for a human to live with vampires without getting killed or turned."

"You're the experts, but there was something...familiar about the way this vamp talked to her."

"Jody's right. And she had scars on her neck, feeding scars. Uh...they're layered, as if they'd been built on for years."

"So she's a blood slave. We've seen it before...vampires keeping people as pets, human feedbags. Sometimes these slaves..."

"...stay loyal to their captors." Sam finishes.

"Right." I nod.

"So...this girl's not talking 'cause she's got a case of what? Vampiric stockholm syndrome?"

"She's protecting the nest."

"So, you feel a debt. They gave you a home, raised you."

"Annie, we get it. Loyalty is a very powerful thing."

"My name is Alex."

"No, it's not."

"It's Annie." I state.

"Annie Jones." Sam adds.

"Those vampires stole you. They're monsters Annie."

"Alex."

"And they didn't love you. They loved your blood. They fed on you."

"I fed them. My choice. My brothers...they brought me food when I was hungry. So when they struck out on a hunt, I fed them. They're my family."

"Okay, you care about them, but, Alex...there's a reason you decided to run away."

"It was time...to move on and get out on my own."

"And how do you think that decision is gonna sit with the rest of the nest? One of them already pursued you. You think when the rest of them find out that you left, that they're just gonna shrug and cut their losses?"

"You lived with them for years. They've tasted your blood. They have you scent down cold. I mean, how far can you run and for how long?"

"Can't be too much longer." I add.

"You didn't think this out, did you? What would happen, who might get hurt...your uh, 'brother' for one."

"His name's Cody. And she killed him."

"Because of a choice you made. These are the consequences."

"You got two options...them or you. And we can help you. We can keep you safe. But you have to help us."

"Where's the nest?"

"I can't. After what's happened...mama finds me, she'll kill me."

"Mills, you okay?"

"No wonder she didn't thank me. That creep was her brother. I'm fine. You know, mostly I'm just...hung up on the name. Alex and Annie...they're so close already. Why'd they change it?"

"Who knows."

"Okay, so we know from her ticket that Alex hopped a bus out of O'Neill, Nebraska right? Obviously, it'd be better to go in with a firm location, but the town ain't that big. There are no caves or other natural hiding places."

"Alright, so go in, canvass it cold."

"Well, I worked together a short list of possible nest locations. Uh, there's an empty fire station, four or five derelict homes. Nothing we couldn't hit in a day."

"Okay. You sure you're alright to babysit by yourself?"

"Oh, well, girl's a flight risk, not exactly friendly, but I think I can handle babysitting detail."

"The station's been made. It might be worth heading upwind for a while. I mean, vamps are trackers."

"Terrific."

"Yeah."

"Well, I've got an old family cabin outside of town."

"That'll work."

"Okay. Well, shouldn't raise too many eyebrows, me being gone for a day."

"Maybe, but you uh, sure you don't want backup?"

"You want me to enlist my men in a protection detail against vampires? Frank's still in the dark about what hit him last night. The guy still has nightmares about the barn episode of 'Walking Dead'. They're good cops. They're not ready for this."

"Jody, in your late night reading, did you ever come across anything about dead man's blood? It takes vamps down like a horse tranq."

"I wuold not say not to some of that. I mean, not that I'll need it. You guys are gonna get the jump on these vamps and be back here before they even realize their kin's missing, right?"

We nod before walking out. In the meantime in Nebraska, a woman who works at the bus station had just locked up and walked to her car to go home for the night.

"Well it's not my fault. Well, Ralph didn't show up for work today. I had to pull a double shift. I'll be home soon." She hangs up her phone.

Before she could even unlock her car, she was approached by someone.

"Connor, you scare the..."

"...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that. It's just, you haven't seen Alex around, have you?"

"Uh, your sister. No, I can't say I have. Sorry."

"Huh. So you didn't sell her a bus ticket out of town?"

"Did I help your shut-in kid sister get away from her weird, scary-ass squatter family? Answer's still no."

"So you're saying Ralph lied to us? 'Cause he said...that you sold her a ticket...right before we killed him."

She then turns and starts to run away from them, and they do follow her. But before she could get oo far, this woman stopped her.

"You calling my family weird? Oh, honey, you have no idea." She says before she bares her fangs and the younger woman gets killed.

In the meantime, Jody had just made it to her family cabin where she would be staying with Alex until it was safe.

"What? Too rustic for your taste? Well, I have a lot of great memories. Used to come up here all the time...first as a kid with my parents and then with my...anyhow, it's a lot nicer than it looks from the outside. F.Y.I...the woods around here...really easy to get lost in if you don't know your way around. Me...I know them like the back of my hand."

"I got it. Don't try running. You won't get far."

Once they got settled, Jody was getting food out to make something to eat, leaving Alex to walk around and explore the cabin a bit.

"You know this doesn't work right?" Alex says about the cross on the wall. "On vampires? It's useless."

"That's not why I have it."

"This your family?"

"Yes."

"Where are they? Oh. Dead."

"You know, there are about a thousand more polite ways you could say that. I'll give you a pass on account of the whole raised-by-monsters thing."

"How'd they die?"

"Horribly. You must be exhausted. I know for a fact you didn't sleep last night."

"I'm fine."

"It's no problem. I can make up a bed."

"I'm fine."

"Suit yourself."

However with us, we had tracked down an abandoned house to see if that's where the nest was. It had to be since we checked everywhere else anyway. When we went in, there were beds and everything as if someone had been staying there.

"This place is a foreclosure right?"

"Yep. It is, just like the rest of them."

"Well, somebody's squatting here."

"Blackout windows."

That's when we hear this buzzing sound and then go to check it out. We decide to split up and do a sneak attack when he's not paying attention.

"Hey! Hey, you need a hand with that? Oh. I guess not."

He bares his teeth and then heads for us, Sam coming up and hitting him in the back of the head with a shovel and knocking him out. We then bring him inside and tie him up for questioning.

"You go out with the family, bring home a nice dinner. How did you get stuck doing the dishes?"

"We all have our roles to play."

"Yours being destroying the evidence, yeah? Nice job. Ralph Hedges. Stacy Kepler. Any reason you targeted them?"

"Yeah. Hunger."

"And so the family's what? Out taking a nice after-dinner stroll?"

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be back real soon."

"What I asked was...where are they?"

"This one is gonna be a tough nut to crack." I remark.

Meanwhile at the police station, Frank was sitting at his desk doing a puzzle in the newspaper.

"Nice shiner."

"Can I help you all with something?"

"As a matter of fact...I think you can."

"You don't want to talk. No skin off my back. 'Cause you see, a blood-sucking, body-chipping vamp...that's bad enough, but vamps...that kidnap kids...well I'm going to enjoy putting you down."

"Of course. Oh I knew this was about Alexis. I warned Mama that girl would screw everything up for us one day."

"Mama?"

"The vamp that turned them all."

"Well, all of us but little sis. She was uh...too good to turn. Mama couldn't bring herself to, no matter what we said, no matter how bad Alexis got."

"Bad?"

"Let me guess. You never had a teenage sister. Dragging her heels, whining, near constant, about everything, but more and more about the blood, like she's somehow above it, like she's better than us 'cause she don't feed on people."

"She is better than you, dumbass."

"She's a human, and humans are better than you things."

"Her moping? That teenage crisis-of-conscience crap? It's annoying as hell, but it's just an act. When the chips are down, she'll always choose us over humans. I mean, how do you think we stayed off your radar all these years? Pretty, young, lost-looking thing like her? Irresistible, especially to the kind of man few people would miss. I mean sure, we hunt sometimes for sport, but it's a lot easier and a lot safer to get delivery."

_"Come on sweetie. Aren't you gonna give me a name?"_

_"It's...Ann."_

_"Mm. Sweet Ann. You got any idea what I'm about to do to you?"_

_"Yeah. I do. Nothing."_

_"What the...is this a party?"_

"She's your lure."

"Best a vamp could ask for. And you better believe you don't get that good at it unless you enjoy it. In her own sweet way...girl's as bloodthirsty as any vampire."

"Jody." Sam states and we realize what's wrong.

"Alex? Alex?" She calls out when she comes back inside from getting firewood. "Alex?" She calls again and opens the door.

She then goes into the bedroom and finds Alex sleeping on the bed. So she goes over and grabs a blanket to cover her up with.

"Whoa! Easy."

"Sorry."

"I made you a sandwich. It's out there if you want it."

"Sheriff. My grandma?"

"I'm so sorry."

"No, it's...it's fine. I figured...it's been years, and she was old."

"You got it. Thank you."

"She's not answering."

"I just ran the victims' names through local P.D. They both worked at the O'Neill bus station."

"So they killed them for Alex's location. Jody?"

"Dean, what's up?"

"Listen to me. The vamps knew that Alex went to Sioux Falls, okay? They're probably already there. We're on our way there next. Look, there's something else. There's something about Alex. "

"It can wait. They're here."

"What?"

"At the cabin. Now."

"We're on our way."

"Hurry."

"She hung up."

"We moving?"

"Yeah. Meet you outside."

Sam and I go out to the car while Dean goes back into the kitchen and cuts off the vamp's head. Alex however wakes up from her sleep and knows something is wrong.

"Alex? Alex come on, we got to go!"

But it's too late as one of the vamps looking for her crashes through the window.

"Jody, help!"

"Alex! Alex! Alex!"

"Help me! Help! Let me go!"

Jody is stopped however, as Alex is taken and they drive away. We couldn't get there quick enough, as when we pulled up it was daytime and we saw Jody laying on the ground.

"Jody?"

"Hey you okay?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa."

"Where's Alex?"

"You tell us."

"They cam and I tried to stop them."

"And you got knocked out. Well, happens to the best of us."

"Just lucky you're alive."

"You think they went back to the nest?"

"Of course they did. Why wouldn't they? Question is..what are they gonna do when they find their brother dead?"

"So we go back now."

"Okay. I'm coming."

"Uh Jody? Hey, hey. Whoa. Hold on. You're hurt."

"I'm coming."

"Jody, we can handle the nest on our own."

"I don't give a fig about the nest. That girl was under my protection."

"Okay, that girl can't be trusted. She's a lure. She's a-a honey trap. She's been feeding people to those vamps!"

"I don't care. Whatever she did, she did because they made her."

"Oh, and that's a reason?"

"She's a kid!"

"Yeah, a kid who's been playing vampire murder since before she was in braces."

"Jody, he's right. A-at best, her loyalties are...screwed."

"And how do you even know she wants to be saved? For the past eight years, she's been baiting the hook for an entire nest. She's got more blood on her hands than most monsters we kill."

"Are you saying she's on your list?"

"I wouldn't say she is...but it's only a matter of time before they turn her and then she will be."

"Look, it sucks, okay? It does. But with hunting monsters comes harsh truths. This is a clean-up mission. It's not a rescue."

"What is this even really about? You barely know the girl."

"I'm coming. And if either one of you lays so much as a hand on Alex...you'll have to go through me."

"Put up quite a struggle with Connor. Says you nearly took his eye out. Maybe that was just his excuse for knocking you out. You have any idea the mess you made? Hunters raided the place while we were out, tortured and killed Dale. Our home's been made. We're gonna have to move again."

"Mama, I-I never meant..."

"Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh! We will all find our way. Things got screwy...but you're back now."

"Why? After everything, I thought that you..."

"You thought what? That I'd hurt you? Kill you? I woul never hurt you. Not my baby girl, not my sweet Alex. How could you even think that? Baby, why did you do it? Why did you run from us?"

"I love you, Mama. I do. I just...I couldn't take it anymore. The blood and the death, the sounds of their screams. I just...I can't do it anymore. And the way I feel afterwards, the guilt...I'd rather die than feel that way again."

"It's my fault."

"What?"

"All of it. This is my fault. I should've turned you years ago."

"Well, their truck's in the driveway."

"So we're walking right into it."

"Great."

"Well, we've faced worse odds."

"Yeah. Jody."

"This is a raid, so tread lightly, stay close. Priority is clearing the nest. Alex comes second. You got it?"

"Got it."

"It was so selfish. I wanted to watch you grow up. I kept putting it off. Don't you see? These things you've been feeling...all the guilt and suffering...those are human feelings. It ain't too late. I can take the pain away. And then we can stay together, as a family. Like none of this ever happened. Wouldn't you like that?"

We had made our way to the house and snuck inside, ready to striker at will. Sam and Dean go upstairs while I stay downstairs with Jody. She notices a door to a basement after we hear some moaning sounds coming from there. Dean comes across one of the vamps with a shotgun to Sam's back.

"Drop it." He refers to the blade and Dean drops it.

Then another vamp comes out and knocks him out. With me and Jody, she has me wait on the stairs while she goes and checks out what's happening in the basement.

"Alex, come on. Come on, honey. We got to go."

"Go away!"

"We got to go! What did they do to you?"

"I'm sorry, Jody. I made my choice."

"She chose me."

"No, no, no. No. Unh-unh-unh-unh. Hell of a sight to come home to...brother lying dead on the floor. No idea it was a Winchester that had done it. So...which one of you was it? Which one of you took off my brother's head?! Was it you? Was it him? Pretty fitting...brother for a brother. This place has been a good home to us. But since you two had to come around and ruin it, we're gonna have to hit the road and find a new one. And when we hit the road...we like to pack a lunch."

With us downstairs, I was still hiding on the stairs while Jody was tied up.

"Can't say you didn't come prepared."

"Alex."

"Hey. Don't be bothering my girl. She's going through something, a process."

"What did you do to her?"

"Fed her my blood. She's on her way now. All that's left is to feed."

"Please, Mama. Let her go. I already drank from you. Let her go."

"Made an impression on my girl, I see. Baby, this is the human half of you talking. After the change, this human...she ain't nothing to you. Clearly, Sheriff, you got issues, some hole in your life you're using my Alex to fill. I would say go and get a family of your own, but well...you know."

"Wow. That's pretty rich coming from the woman who stole Alex to begin with."

"I have fed her, clothed her, loved her going on nine years. You think motherhood's just about blood? You don't know the first thing about it."

"Maybe not, but I know what it isn't. And it ain't about forcing her to be like you the second she becomes inconvenient."

"Don't you see what she is trying to do? This hunter cop bitch is trying to turn you against me to save her own hide. Don't believe a word she says." She simply says before kicking Jody in the bad knee. "She ain't your mother."

Sam however was being drained of blood fairly quick and into a bucket for the vamps.

"Tapped this keg. Get the short hair one ready."

He kicks him and goes to set up the blood draining before Dean injects him with dead man's blood and fights with the other vamp.

"Time to finish this."

"Alex! Was that her name? You named her after someone. Was it your daughter? I couldn't figure out why you changed her name. I thought maybe you were ashamed of your theft, but you have no shame. You said that I was using her to fill a hole in my life, and you're right. I am. You are too."

"Mama?"

"I guess it takes one to know one."

"That Alex...she died a long time ago."

"And it still hurts. You still feel it, the loss, the pain...like a stone in your gut. It hurts just a little bit less whenever she's near."

"You bitch." She states before she proceeds to just beat the crap out of her.

Dean in the meantime was overpowering the vamp fighting him and pinned him against the wall.

"Look at me. Look at me, bitch!" He exclaims and with that, he decapitates him.

"Dean."

"Yeah I know. You wouldn't have done the same for me."

"No. Jody and Brooke."

"Good news, lady cop. Whoever you lost...you're gonna see them again real soon."

I decide to finally come out from hiding to help Jody, but as soon as I get to the bottom of the stairs, I see Alex stab and inject 'mama' as she called her with the dead man's blood.

"Alex? How could you? You were my girl."

"I'm sorry, Mama."

Jody then takes her own blade and holds it to the woman's neck. Since she was going to decapitate her, I go over to Alex, getting ready to hide her.

"Don't watch this sweetheart."

Just then Sam and Dean come downstairs, and Alex turns into me so she doesn't see anything. What we do next is get the blood from 'Mama', and make the cure for Alex so she can be human again. We all clean up before heading back to the cabin in the woods, where Jody lets Alex lay down and rest before she gets better.

"Nice work back there. Look at me, bitch?" Sam says to Dean.

"What are you talking about?" I question.

"Dean, and when he killed that vamp."

"Well hey, you got another snappy one-liner, I'm all ears."

"What I'm saying is...it looked to me like you were enjoying it. Maybe too much."

"And?"

"That's a problem Dean."

"Well, sorry for not putting on a hair shirt. Killing things that need killing is kind of our job. Last time I checked, taking pleasure in that is not a crime."

"Right, but..."

"How's things back at the station?" Dean asks Jody.

"Well, they beat Frank up pretty bad, but at least they left him alive. He kept apologizing for spilling the beans about the cabin, but I told him that one's on me."

"Well, speaking of apologies, um...we owe you a big one."

"We were wrong about the girl."

"No. You were right...about me. My judgment was clouded. You know, working this case, it brought...feelings back. Feelings I've been trying to bury for years, you know, buried it under work, religion...even dating. We know how that worked out. But you know, it was still there, you know, underneath. The grief. Don't know what that means for me, just that I've been...I've been fooling myself to think that I could ignore it. Anyway, thank you...for coming out, for curing Alex."

"You don't need to thank us. I mean, you're the one who killed her sire, got her blood."

"Sure it'll work?"

"Positive." I nod.

"It'll be a rough couple of days though. You sure you don't want us to stay?"

"I'm good."

"After it's done, you know what to do with her?"

After we left, Jody went back in to check on her and she was tossing and turning in the bed.

"Don't get up on account of me."

"I'm...I'm hot."

"Should I grab a..."

"I'll just be cold again in a second. It's part of the cure, I guess."

"You want something to eat?"

"No, I'll just throw it up. But uh, thank you. I want you to know that...when Mama offered, I just...I couldn't disappoint her again. I had enough to be ashamed of as it is. Jody, I-I've done things."

"You don't have to explain. I know. Whatever you want from me, I'll give it. If you want, I'm here. But what you've been through the last 48 alone, losing your entire family, everything you've ever known or loved...no one can understand that."

"You can."


	21. Bloodlines

**Chicago, Illinois**

"This place is beautiful."

"Oh, it's alright. You're beautiful."

"Look Ross, if you think laying it on thick like that's gonna get you somewhere tonight..."

"I'm right?"

"...you're totally right. Okay, spill...why are we here?"

"Hold that thought." Ross says as he gets up and goes over to the host.

"Mr. Ross, I hear it's a big night."

"Yeah. The biggest. Can you put this in a glass of champagne? Something nice?" He asks, revealing an engagement ring.

"How unique. Sal!"

"Hey!"

"Long time no see."

"Too long Maurice. How you been man?"

"Good, how are you doing?"

"Good. Good to see you."

"Dude...man, we were just talking."

"You got a problem?"

"Oh, chill out Marv. It's all good, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"This way, gentlemen."

"How you been?"

"Good, Mr. Lassiter. Good."

"Sometimes you give, and sometimes you get, huh?"

"And sometimes you really get."

"Hey, Mindy. You miss me?"

"Aww. I liked you as a blonde."

With just one sweep of his fingers through his hair, it's blonde.

"Better? I hear they have more fun. Hello, Julian. I'm not looking or trouble. I just want a drink."

"And I want to eat Taylor Swift's heart, but we can't always get what we want. Now get your shifter ass out of here. I wasn't asking."

"You werewolves. You think you're so special, when really you're just sons of bitches."

That causes a slight fight to break out between them, before they're broken apart.

"That all you got?"

"Oh, trust me, slugger. I got more. So much more."

"Where you goin', old yeller?"

Just then the power ends up going out, and the doors burst open and someone cloaked and with sharp fingers starts to just kill all the monsters. In the meantime, Ross and his girlfriend are leaving the restaurant for a more peaceful view.

"Ennis! Where are we going?"

"That place...it wasn't us."

"So, you dragged me to a ferry stop, why?"

"We met on a ferry. That field trip...5th grade...you had your hair in braids, and...and I couldn't take my eyes off you. Tam, this is us. So..." He trails off, taking out the ring box.

"Oh my god!"

But before he could propose, Sal had come out of the restaurant himself, after being attacked by whoever or whatever it was earlier.

"Call 911! Call 911!"

"David...I'm sorry."

"David? Who's David?"

"I didn't have a choice."

That thing that attacked all the monsters had made its way outside and it grabbed the girl and threw her into the wall, instantly killing her as she hit her head.

"Tamara! Tamara!" Ross screams, but he too is attacked, but not seriously hurt.

He goes over to find Tamara dead.

**North Chicago, University**

"Professor? What are you doing here?"

"Uh, my office. Why aren't you at lunch?"

"Paperwork. I thought you and your wife had gone away for the weekend."

"We have...we are. I just forgot something. Don't worry about it." He says as he goes into his office.

But shortly after, he shifts into someone else, clearly that person being a shapeshifter.

"Matt? It's David Lassiter. Spread the word...I've got answers to the math final. 50 bucks a pop."

Once he's able to get those and get out of the office safely, he goes outside.

"Teddy's house of pinatas, Cinnamon speaking." He says when he answers the phone.

"Not funny, David. Where the hell are you?! You need to come home."

"Margo. Margo. Slow down."

"David, listen to me. You have to come home now."

"What do you mean?"

"It's about Sal."

"What about Sal?"

"Our brother's dead."

"I know what I saw." Ross says as he's being questioned.

"And you're sure? I mean...sure? 'Cause what you're tellin' me...about this faceless whatever-it-is?"

"That thing had claws."

"Look, maybe you got confused. You know, maybe...maybe it was some banger with a knife."

"I know what I saw."

"I am trying to help."

"By calling me a liar?!"

"Wow. You are just like your old man. Nate Ross was a great cop. He taught me everything I know. But his temper never did him any favors. Look, you had a tough break, losin' your dad as young as you did. And I have done all I can to help. But if you go off half-cocked, spouting this monster crap or doing something stupid, I can't help you anymore Ennis."

"I know what I saw."

But that's when the door opens and Sam, Dean and myself walk in.

"Agents Bonham, Peart and Stanley, FBI. We'll take it from here."

"Like hell you will. Since when did the feeb start working stabbings?"

"Listen uh, detective...your uh, perp fits a certain profile. Now I could go into detail, but I'm...I'm not going to." Dean says before leaving him outside and coming back inside and shutting the door.

"Alright. Let's talk about last night."

"Why? So you can call me crazy too?"

"Trust me, we won't." I remark.

"But go ahead and try us." Dean adds.

He tells us the story of how he was gonna propose and everything, before the thing attacked.

"And when I got to her...she...she..."

"There is nothing you could've done."

"That's supposed to make me feel better? Look, this thing wasn't human. So what are you gonna do about it?"

"I don't know what to tell you kid. There's no such thing as monsters."

We say no more and then leave.

"Margo, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down, detective. Just tell me...the ghouls, are they with us?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe? We don't pay you for 'maybe', Freddie. Cut to the chase."

"Alright. Well, with your pop the way he is and now that Sal's gone...the families have concerns."

"Tell the Ghouls, the Djinn, and whoever, I run this family now. So they can either back us, or I'll bend 'em over, jam a 45 elbow deep and empty the damn clip."

"Margo."

"You actually came."

"Welcome home, David. Hey, I'm sorry about Sal. He was a...he was a good one."

"What happened to him?"

"Julian Duval happened. He and Sal had words in the backroom of IL Secundo, then the wolf circled around and tore that place apart. He clawed out Sal's heart, and he will bleed for that."

"Maybe you can talk some sense into her, 'cause I sure as hell can't."

"Margo? What's with the N.R.A. Christmas in here? What are you doing?"

"We're going to war. You don't like it, talk to Dad."

"I didn't know Pop was this bad."

"You've been gone three years. Things change."

"Margo, are you sure it was Julian?!"

"Costa's got a witness."

"That saw Julian?"

"He hated Sal. You knew it, I knew it...the whole damn city knew it. The dick saw his shot, and he took it."

"That's a 'no'."

"The mutt gutted our brother!"

"You don't know that! And if the werewolves did this..."

"If?! Look at you...falling all over yourself to defend the family that's had their foot on our neck for years. Oh, it's just like old times. Oh, by the way...your ex is getting married. You know that, right? Violet? Her father pimped her out to the New York wolves to seal some deal."

"I'm not saying don't fight. I'm saying be smart. Find out what happened. And if Julian did this..."

"Yeah, you'll what? David, come on. You don't want this. You ran away to be a human. You always had a soft spot for 'em. Look, you're out. Stay out."

"You sure I can't get you anything? Bourbon? Blood?" Julian asks one of his guests.

"I'm fine. Do you really think the shifters will make a move? Margo is not stupid."

"Julian."

"Not now, Violet."

"We need to talk. Please. I just heard...Sal Lassiter's dead."

"Oh dear. Whatever shall I do?"

"Did you kill him?"

"No. From the look of his body, Sal died quick."

"Wait, you saw his body?"

"I'm thorough, aren't I?"

"Then who killed him?"

"Like I care."

"Why are you meeting with the Djinn?"

"Because that whore Margo Lassiter wants me dead. She thinks I sliced up her brother. And I'm not gonna tell her any different. After what those shifters have done...chipping away at our territory, insulting us...there's a war coming. And I need tattoos in there on my side."

"Wait, Julian, stop..."

"What do you think you're doing?! You're the bitch in this pack, princess. Your job is to be pretty and silent. So war, no war...you don't get a vote."

In the meantime, Ross has gotten off a train and headed back home. He goes into the closet and goes into a trunk filled with his father's things, taking out a revolver and bullets. That same day he went to the scene of what happened to Tamara, and then heads into the restaurant, and the secret room for the monsters at least. The lights then turn on and he goes and hides.

"Chicago P.D. Stay right where you are!"

"I don't think so." The host from the other night says before he bares his fangs.

"What the...?" Ross says, shooting him, but it doesn't work.

Before he could bite him and kill him, that's when we show up and cut off his head.

"He looks better with a little off the top don't you think?" Dean jokes. "You want to run, now's the time."

"I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what the hell's going on."

"You should go."

"No."

"Alright Sammy, give him the talk."

"Alright look, my name is Sam Winchester. That's my brother Dean. That's his girlfriend Brooke. We, uh...we kill vampires. And werewolves, and demons, and...basically we chase down evil...and we cut its head off."

"So you're, what, monster cops?"

"Hunters."

"Then what killed my girlfriend?"

"That we don't know." I remark.

"We're working on it, okay? And from what you told us, uh, this thing sounds new...or Freddy Krueger."

"W-what about the guy I saw in the mirror? With...with the messed up face?"

"It's probably a wraith. Look, a lot of these things, they can look human until you catch them in a mirror or sometimes a camera."

"So...so you find this...this whatever, a-and you're...you're gonna chop its head off?"

"Yeah, or sometimes, when in doubt, try a silver bullet."

"Hey, Sammy."

"Yep."

"This is full of...of blood and meat. A lot of meat. Actually this one, uh...this one's labeled 'Susan'."

"Ugh.." I make a face.

"What is this, some kind of backroom..."

"...Monster V.I.P."

"Yeah, well, if it is and Sal Lassiter was here..."

"Then he's not human."

"Exactly." I nod.

"So, what, we got monsters killing monsters now?"

"Maybe. We got to see the body."

"I'm coming with you."

"Whoa, wait...I don't think so."

"You're gonna stay."

"Or what? Huh? You gonna hurt me? Kill the girl I love? Ruin my damn life?! Yeah, you're too late."

"Ennis, listen. I get it. Believe me, I've been there. But what we do? It's messed up. So do yourself a favor and stay out. You can get hurt, too."

"Okay." Dean states and we then leave.

Ennis has since gone home and started to do some research, starting with Sal Lassiter, until there was a knock on the door, and it was the detective.

"Hey, can we talk?"

"About what?"

"Last night. The thing you think killed Tamara, what'd it look like?"

"Thing? You said it was 'some banger with a knife'."

"Chasing down every lead, kid."

"Like I told you, it didn't have much of a face."

"He...it...whatever...say anything?"

"I told you that, too."

"Then tell me again."

"Hey, if you got the time, why don't you hang around? ad's working the graveyard, but he'll be home soon. And he'd love to see you."

"Sure. Be good to see him too."

"Sorry. Text." He says as he takes out his phone and turns the camera on, seeing that the detective's eyes were glowing.

"No worries. Look, Ennis. I uh...I know this is hard."

"See, uh that thing slashed up my jacket pretty good. Forensics went over it, but...well, you want to see?"

"That'd be great."

He leads him to the bedroom and makes goes into the closet.

"I appreciate this, kid. Really."

"Hey. Look, there's a silver bullet in this gun!"

"Ennis. Ennis, don't..."

"You're not Freddie Costa, so who are you?!"

With that, he shifts back into his form, it being David.

"My name is David Lassiter. I'm a shapeshifter."

"You're a what?!"

"We shift...our shape. Um, it's kind of all there in the name. Sal Lassiter was my brother. I'm just trying to find out who killed him."

"So you slap on somebody else's face, huh?!"

"It's kind of my go-to. Look, I read the police report. I know you lost someone too."

"Oh, shut up! See, you don't talk about her!"

"You know what's going on out there? Do you have any idea?"

"Freaks. Hunters. Yeah, I got the basics."

"Wow. You are so in over your head. Let me give you the short version. Chicago is divided up between five monster families."

"What? Is that a joke?"

"Do you hear a laugh track?"

"What about the police?"

"We own the police. Look, I'm talking shakedowns, organ trafficking. The werewolves running the gold coast, the djinn owning the South side. But we want to keep a low profile, so...we keep the peace. And human casualties to a minimum."

"A minimum?"

"Look, I don't like it either, okay? But you know what's behind door #2? War. That's blood...human and monster...in the street. And right now? There's exactly one guy trying to stop it."

"Wow. You know, good for you. I'd slow clap, but, well, my hands are a little full."

"Just stay out of it, okay? These cuts are flecked with silver." David states as he picks up Ennis' jacket.

"How do you know?"

"Because it burns."

"So?"

"Julian Duval hasn't got silver claws. He's a werewolf." He says as he gets closer to show him the jacket, initially throwing it on him so he's able to escape.

"Hey! Hey!"

With that, he's gone, and nowhere in site as Ennis bursts outside. He goes back inside and goes back to the computer to do more research, this time on Julian and that night, he finds the mansion he lives in. But what he didn't know was that we were doing the same thing, but came up on us when we were talking, hiding of course when he heard us.

"So, get this. The uh, coroner says this guy, this uh, Julian Duval, shows up, drops 3 grand to see Sal's corpse."

"And he lives in a friggin' castle. Who is this guy?"

"Well, if we're lucky, someone who knows what happened to that monster boy."

"Madame."

"You can cut the cat, David."

"How did you..."

"I know you."

"Yeah well, ditto."

"Is the real butler okay?"

"He's resting. Locked in a closet."

"You shouldn't be here."

"You think I want to be here? It's about Sal."

"I heard. I'm so sorry. Julian didn't do it."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I need you to talk to your brother, get him to have a sit-down with Margo, so they can just work this crap out."

"There's no way that's happening."

"We can stop a war, Violet."

"One, Julian doesn't want to stop this, and second, how? You're a runaway and I'm...I'm a bitch. We don't matter."

"What's wrong with you? Since when do you play their game? And since when do you let your dad sell you to some dick from New York?"

"You think I had a choice?!"

"You did! Union Station. Midnight. You had a choice. You...you're the one who said we should go away, live a normal life. You set the time, the place...and I was there. Where were you?"

Just then, the thing that attacked every monster the other night, jumped down and attacked David.

"Run!"

She does run and whoever it was attacking David went after her, and David went after them and pulled them to the ground to stop them. They get into a scuffle and they sink their silver claws into his skin and burns him, and we hear the screams and then a gunshot. We then quickly run to where it was coming from. Violet then screams and David goes on the run to find her.

"Violet! Violet!"

That's when Ennis comes into the woods where David was, and that's when we show up.

"What the hell's going on?!"

"It took her."

"Wait, who are you?"

"His name's David Lassiter. He's a shapeshifter."

"Uh guys?" I question when we hear an alarm go off.

"Hey, we got to go. Now! Let's go!"

We then clear the area, making it back to the car. We pile in and drive away from the estate as you would call it, and find an area where we would be safe.

"Alright, everybody out. So you're tellin' me there are five monster families that run Chicago? What is this, 'The Godfather' with fangs?"

"Well, if it is, I'm gonna need all the help I can get."

"Well, he doesn't quit. I'll give him that."

"No kidding."

"Violet's not picking up."

"Wait, so this girl, she's a shifter too?"

"Werewolf."

"Awesome." Dean and Ennis say in unison.

"If she has her cell, we could trace the signal."

"Yeah, you might be right. Alright. What's her number?"

"Take me with you, and it's all yours."

"No! Oh hell no! Dude, he's a freakin' transformer."

"And sometimes you got to work with the bad guys to get to the worse guys."

"Dude, I'm right here."

"Yeah, I see you." Dean says and we all get back into the car and drive off as Sam tracks Violet's cell.

In the meantime, she's chained up and knocked out until she finally wakes up.

"You think I'm some freak...like you. But I'm not. I'm just a man. With some fun little toys."

We finally arrive to where the cell signal led us to.

"Signal's coming from in there."

"Hey. Thanks for...you know. And about your girlfriend, I'm..."

"Look, I don't need no apology from you."

"I lost someone too, okay?! But I'm trying here."

"I'm sorry about your brother. He spoke about you at the end. He said, 'David, I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice'."

"Alright, you guys can kiss and make up later. We got work to do. Come on."

"Silver. It burns if you're evil. If you're a monster. No! No! You look at him! He was my son. And your brother and the shifter, Lassiter...they ripped him apart. The police told me that it was a wild animal. And I believed them for years. But now I know the truth."

"Please, Sal and Julian hated each other, and neither of them would hurt a kid."

"Why should I believe you? You're dead. Tomorrow, they will find pieces of you all over town. Oh, won't the doggies be mad?"

"That's what you want. You're trying to start a war."

"When freaks start killin' freaks we win."

"No. Once this starts, do you have any idea how many people...how many children will die?"

Just then a door opens and he goes to check it out, obviously it being us of course.

"Alright, you're with me Romeo."

"Sounds good, Buffy."

He goes off with Dean while I go with Sam and Ennis. Dean motions for David to stay put while he goes off investigating. But there's a shadow and David goes off by himself and gets attacked and captured.

"Kid? David?!"

He too was tied up next to Violet.

"I'm so sorry, Violet."

"Guess I'm gonna have to make an example of you, too."

"No!"

"Don't hurt her!"

"Why?! Hmm?! 'Cause she's your girlfriend? Hmm? Yeah, I heard you talking. Real sweet. Hell, it was almost human. Almost." He says as he sinks the silver claws into him and that causes Violet to turn into her werewolf side.

"Here's the thing...you can look human and act human...but deep down? You're just a monster.

That's when Violet breaks the chains and attacks him. David gets loose as well and tries to stop her.

"Violet no, please. Please! Violet, please. It's alright, it's alright."

We then come into the room and look down at the scene.

"What'd we miss?"

"I know you. I'm sorry about your girl. But she was in the way. You understand. I know you do. They're monsters!"

"I only see one monster here." Ennis says, before shooting and killing him.

After everything was taken care of, we got everyone home, aside from Ennis.

"You alright?"

"I will be. Are you?"

"I'll get back to you on that. Sal...he said he was sorry. Those were his last words...'David, I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice'. But Sal never did anything to me. Why would he say that?"

_"Sal, what are you do...he's not coming, is he?"_

_"David'll be here in a few minutes. You won't be."_

_"Why are you doing this?"_

_"'Cause he's my little brother, Violet. It's my job to protect him. It's my job to keep our blood pure."_

_"You believe that bloodline crap?"_

_"We all do. Bloodlines...everyone knowing our place. It's the one thing we all agree on. If your people find out you ran off with a shifter, they'll be lookin' for payback. And they'll come after my family. And then it's nothin' but bad times and dead bodies on both sides. David wants to go straight, that's his call. But he does it alone. So you have a choice, Violet...you could either walk out of here alive...or I'll take you out and dump what's left of you in the lake."_

_"Sal? I love him."_

_"I wish that mattered."_

"Even after I left the family, I knew if things got bad, that Sal would always have my back. So...what did he mean?"

"I don't know. I should go."

"Sure. Right. That's what you do best."

"David..." She trails off before kissing him, and then walks off.

Later that day, David was sitting at his father's bedside, when suddenly he woke up.

"Pop? What?"

"Your sister...she wants war. You have to stop her."

He then goes downstairs and shows her the hand of silver claws that was responsible for Sal's death.

"All this was some...messed up guy. The Duvals are clean."

"Fine. We done?"

"And I'm coming back to the family."

"I thought you were out."

"Well, now I'm back in."

"I've waited a long time to hear you say that. Welcome home, David."

In the meantime, we've pulled up to Ennis' place to drop him off back home.

"You live here alone?"

"My sister's on the other side of town, my mom's out of the picture, and my dad...well, he died. Line of duty. A long time ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"We all are." I nod.

"Yeah?" Dean answers his phone.

"So what's next?"

"Nothing, you're done."

"Okay. We're on our way. Yeah."

"Just give us a second." Sam says as Dean motions for us.

"What's up?"

"We've got a gig."

"You want to leave? Dean, this city is crawling with monsters."

"Cas has a line on Metatron. This is what we've been waiting for. This is our shot, guys."

"You're going?"

"Look, we'll uh..we'll call in some other hunters, some pros, and download them on the monster mob situation, all of it."

"Look guys, I co..."

"Ennis, seriously. Don't. You get in this too deep, there's no getting out."

We then get into the car, wave to him and then drive away.

_But I couldn't walk away. This is my fight now. Hell, it's a damn war, and I got to start somewhere._

"Hello?"

"What are you doing?"

"Who is this?"

"If you start hunting, the monsters will kill you."

"Dad? Dad?"


	22. King of the Damed

**_Leith, Scotland - 1723_**

_A young man was packing his bag and getting ready to leave, when he heard a noise outside. There was light and the door rattled before it opened and revealed Abaddon._

_"What's that you say? Come in? Don't mind if I do."_

_"Who are you? What do you want?"_

_"I'm a friend of the family. And I want you."_

_"I have no idea who you are. But you'll be takin' your leave now. Thank you."_

_"Yes. You're packing. Sailing for the colonies. I know all about it. Change of plans."_

_Just then another guy came into the room. _

_"Ooh. What's this, then? Are we having a party?"_

_"Yes. A farewell party." She states before killing him initially. "Kah-nee-lah, poo-goh. Kah-nee-lah, poo-goh! Kah-nee-lah, poo-goh!"_

**Present Time**

"...we just got from the place around the corner, and a seagull landed on her head and started flapping and distracted her while another seagull swooped in.."

"..Oh I can't tell you how great it feels to finally have a night off, right guys?"

"Uh, this other seagull came..."

"Get away from all the pressure, you know?"

"A-anyways, so, no one had any pizza after that."

"'Course, I can't really complain..."

"You just see the bird..."

"Being handpicked by the big man himself. I'm not really supposed to talk about it. 'Cause it's Metatron."

"What about Metatron?"

"Well, uh...he's come to depend on me. So you know, we're...tight. And I have to say, I've come to appreciate the met-man's vision."

"His vision? He threw us all out of Heaven!"

"No, no, no, no. Big picture. He's giving the place a makeover, bringing back the chosen few, starting with the, uh, chosen chosen few, if you, uh, know what I mean."

When he was done at the bar and left to head home, he was grabbed from behind and then locked up.

"These are dangerous times. You have to be careful what you say. You never know who might be listening."

"I said nothing."

"Oh, you said plenty. Apparently, you felt the need to discuss your relationship with Metatron...his strategies..."

"No."

"...privileged information. You speak that freely, and there are consequences, as you're about to find out."

There's then footsteps approaching the room.

"Is that...him?"

"It is."

And in seconds, Cas walks into the room. We were of course called and asked if we could help and of course we did so. The next day, we pulled up to where Cas told us he was.

"This is the address?"

"Yeah."

When we walk up to the building and the door, it opens before we could even knock.

"If you'll follow me, the commander will see you now."

"The commander?" Dean questions us, before we head in and follow.

"Sir."

We walk in and are greeted with hugs by Cas.

"Um...dismissed. He can be a little stuffy."

"So...commander?"

"Yeah, not my idea. They had no leader, and they insisted on following me."

"Yeah. No, we get it. You're a rock star."

"Bartholomew is dead. Malachi was murdered by Gadreel, and with Metatron as powerful as he is now, I needed to do something."

"So this war between angels is really gonna happen huh?"

"Not if I can find a diplomatic option for getting rid of Metatron."

"Good luck with that."

"Dean, this angel-on-angel violence...it has to end. Someone has to say 'enough'."

"And that someone is you?"

"That brings me to why you're here. We have a prisoner. It's an angel from Metatron's inner circle. I need to know what they're planning, but so far, he's revealed nothing."

"So, you're done with the rough stuff, and you want us to be your goons?"

"Well you've had success at these situations before. If you don't want to do it, I understand."

"Who says I don't want to do it?"

**Cleveland, Ohio**

"So here's the thing boys and girls...we have a crisis. Admittedly, a crisis of my own making. In my extended absence, where I handled sensitive matters of state, Abaddon made inroads into my following, creating chaos. So I look to you, my trusted advisers, to restore confidence, to soothe those jangled nerves. Spread the word...the king is back, and the kingdom is once again on sound footing. So, all those with me, say 'yo!'."

"Yo! I mean, I'm literally with you, not with you with you."

"You betrayed me? No one in the history of torture's been tortured with torture like the torture you'll be tortured with."

"Relax everyone. You did the new queen a solid. You are sitting at the popular kids' table. Now, Crowley, let's talk turkey. I know you've helped the Winchesters and that little bitch get their hands on the first blade, yes? And i'm hearing that one of them also has the mark of Cain...all bad news, since the blade is the one thing that can bring about my..."

"...utter destruction."

"To be indelicate. But here's the thing, pet...same goes for you. And once i'm gone, who do you think's next on their list? That's right. So, let's get real. Join me in taking them out and that ridiculous blade, and then we'll deal with each other."

"To be clear...I'll not be joining you ever. Except t your death scene, where I shall burst into song. Goodbye. You have no hold over me."

"Oh no?" She snaps her fingers. "Gavin, honey, say hello to Daddy."

"How did you..."

"I know a spell or two, Crowley."

"Are you mad? This is your big card? The boy and I loathe each other. I made it clear in the past...I don't care what happens to the little bugger."

"No. But that was before...wasn't it? See I know all about your little problem...bingeing on blood, going right to the edge of being human...all of those human feelings."

"I'm clean."

"And I'm willing to bet that there's a smidgen of humanity in there somewhere."

"Not a chance."

With a wave of her hand, Gavin's eyes start bleeding.

"I'm blind! Help! I beg you!"

"You know these ghoulish party tricks don't impress. Seen worse, done worse."

"No! Please!" Gavin continues to scream in agony.

"You're playing a weak hand red!"

With another flick of her hand, she increases the pain.

"I beg you!"

"You've made your point. Now stop."

"Sure."

In the meantime with us, we were bought into where the prisoner was held, for questioning.

"You're wasting your time. I have nothing to say."

"Oh really?" I question.

"We disagree."

"There's no use torturing me. I am a trained commando. It won't work."

"Wow. Well, you just asked me to dance." Dean remarks as he gets ready to use the blade on him.

"Dean!" Sam and I yell in unison, causing him to stop.

"Are you crazy?" I question him.

"He won't be telling us anything dead. Besides you know, i'm really starting to realize that he probably doesn't know anything. He was probably just pretending at the bar. Most likely he's a nobody. I mean, do the math. Ezra here is one of Metatron's elite posse? Really? One of Metatron's most trusted is uh...hanging out at bars, blabbing about the boss. Does that make any sense?"

"Well, only if Metatron is purposely surrounding himself with losers."

"Exactly! Right?"

"Yeah."

"What's this guy even doing here?"

"He's a wannabe. I mean if he was a key player, he would be up in Heaven with Metatron where all the action is."

"Exactly."

"What if I'm a decoy?"

"A decoy? Really?"

"Or in deep cover?"

"Psh, yeah okay pal." I scoff, while Sam and Dean laugh about it.

"Uh, i-it's pathetic."

"Mm, probably hasn't even been to Heaven, not since the fall."

"Of course not!"

"Yes I have." Ezra scoffs.

"Buddy, the gates are sealed. No one can get in."

"Who said anything about gates? You don't need gates when you have a private portal."

"Right. If there was a doorway on Earth, the angels would've sensed it."

"Yeah, you can't hide something like that."

"No."

"No kidding."

"You can if it moves around from place to place, if it's wherever the boss wants it to be."

"You are not my father." Gavin remarks after he's cleaned up from the torture Abaddon put him through. "My father was Fergus Macleod, a simple tailor. A drunk, a monster."

"Sounds about right."

"He looked nothing like you, and I buried him."

"A lot can change in 291 years."

"What?"

He takes the lampshade off and turns the light on and off to show him.

"Can you cook a pigeon on it?"

"Not terribly quick, is he?" Abaddon remarks as she waves her hand and opens the doors to the outside balcony overlooking the city.

"Holy mother of God! We're amongst the stars! Are we in Heaven then? You must be angels!"

"Wow." Crowley and Abaddon say in unison.

"I see. I got it. So, you heard a rumor about Metatron's 'secret portal', and you decided to run with it." Sam remarks.

"It's not a rumor. He showed me."

"I get it. He's a fan." Dean says amusedly.

"A fan. Yeah."

"Awww, how cute." I laugh.

"You're a fan. Just 'cause you're hot for Metatron...or Bieber or Beckham...just 'cause you know everything about them doesn't mean that you actually know them."

"Or that they even know you exist."

"Ooh, that's cold Sammy."

"I'm just sayin' man."

"I was interviewed personally by Metatron for a key post."

"Yeah?"

"You don't say."

"Oh, wow. Well then...then maybe you can tell me why you weren't at your key post and you were hanging down here instead."

"Mm. Now, that blows." Dean says when Ezra says nothing. "He got passed over."

"Yeah."

"I-I was a finalist."

"Oh man. To get so close and then get kicked downstairs. It sucks to be you."

"Hardly anybody was chosen! And ground forces is still a very important assignment. It was an honor to have even been considered for the squad."

"What squad? There is no squad."

"Yea, says you. It's a highly guarded secret."

"Oh."

"And what would you be doing, exactly? No?"

"Wait a second. Just please, uh...clarify this for me. You desperately wanted this job, but you didn't know what it was?"

"Well, until you were chosen, the exact nature of the mission was kept a secret."

"Wow." The three of us say in unison.

"And...hardly anyone was chosen."

We just had enough and walked out.

"Isn't he just an idiot." I remark.

"Dim bulb. No wonder he got bumped."

"Yea. Ground forces? Elite secret squad? What's Metatron gearing up for?"

"I don't know...why don't we shove somebody through the back door of Heaven and find out. Oh wait, no. It's portable and can't be found."

"You sold you soul?!" Gavin exclaims when Crowley tells him why he is the way he is and why he looks how he looks now. "Sold it?! For an extra three inches of willy?!"

"Priorities change. I wasn't the bon vivant that I am now. I'll simplify...my soul did a stint in Hell, where it became demonized. Then I had to possess another person so I could traffic with the living. Any of this sticking?"

"I-I can't be consorting with a demon!"

"Not just any demon. I'm the king...the king of Hell! And there you were, worried the old man wouldn't amount to much."

When one of the angels returned to check on Ezra, she did find him killed. Now obviously we were brought into Cas' office and questioned about it, because we were the last ones to see him.

"We didn't do a thing Cas."

"It's unbelievable. I mean, he was fine when we left him."

"I barely touched the guy."

"Still shackled, no weapon. It wasn't suicide."

"No. This was an angel kill."

"Okay. Well I'm gonna say it. Maybe your operation's been hacked. You know, Metatron's got somebody on the inside."

"I was sue everyone here was loyal. Finally united by a common cause."

"Well, that's the problem. See, you don't think anybody's lying. I think everybody's lying. It's a gift. Let's do some nosin' around." Dean states as he gets up and walks out the door of the office, with me following.

"Sam. You have a moment?"

"Yeah. What?"

"I wanted to ask you about Gadreel, the time he possessed you."

"It's not really something I like to..."

"Sam, please."

"He didn't possess me completely...more like we uh...shared housing. I was still me."

"Did you ever sense a presence?"

"I don't really know what I felt. I mean, maybe that I wasn't completely alone."

"Did you ever feel threatened?"

"No. More that he...wasn't at rest, l-like he had unfinished business. Now that we know more about him, I-I'd say he felt misunderstood."

"But not...not a danger, not hostile."

"No. I was wrong, obviously. He killed Kevin." Sam says before he leaves the room.

"Why do I hate you?!" Gavin exclaims.

"I mean, I beat you, starved you, came home drunk, beat you some more, woke up hungover, and yeah, I beat you. In all fairness, I didn't really have any role models. My mother was a witch!"

"I grew up thinkin'...knowing' I was nothin'. Less then nothin'! You worked me harder than the horse! You never let me go to school. To this day, I can't read!"

"It's overrated. Most of Europe couldn't read. You want to read?" Crowley asks, touching his forehead quickly. "Read."

"Some buccaneers beat the saints? Can this be? I can read."

"King of Hell. Plenty of perks."

"So...if you're a king...that would make me...prince?"

"And you say I've never given you anything. A title!"

"And if I was to accept you as my father, you could keep me from eternally burning in Hell? No matter my sins?"

"You're negotiating with me? That's my boy."

"This might work out. For the first time in my entire life, I can see possibilities, a future...just as soon as you take me back to my own time and I can board that ship for the new world."

"Uh, about that ship..."

"What about the ship?"

"It's not important. You can tell Abaddon I'm ready for that chat."

In the meantime, Cas planned to meet with Gadreel, choosing a forest to meet him at.

"Thank you for coming. And thank you for coming alone."

"I've seen you through Sam Winchester's eyes, and he trusts you. You have a reputation for honor."

"In some circles. As for reputations, yours precedes you."

"What happened in the garden was not my doing."

"I know you feel misunderstood. And you're eager to redeem yourself and maybe more."

"You refer to my support of Metatron's campaign to rebuild Heaven?"

"Your support? You've recruited for him, you've killed for him. And I know you truly believe it's for the greater good, but you've placed your faith in the wrong master."

"You don't know him."

"I know him too well, Gadreel! I made the same mistake and it led to the fall."

"Which led to my second chance."

"This is about more than just you."

"Castiel, are you suggesting I change loyalties?"

"I'm suggesting you reclaim your original loyalty...to the Heaven and mission we were made to serve."

"I thought that was exactly what I was doing."

"You've been deceived. And as bad as you've had it, all those centuries locked away, it will be much worse under Metatron."

"Castiel!" Gadreel exclaims when an angel comes running in from behind.

He kills her and the angel that was with him was killed, but that angel that killed her was killed.

_"Give me your hand. That's it."_

_"Drop the blade Dean. Dean!"_

"Dean." Sam snaps him out of his daze. "What's wrong with you? You hear your phone?"

"It's about time. Where the hell have you been?"

"I told you I'd be in touch when I'd found Abaddon. Well...I'm in touch."

"Where are you?"

"First things first. I'll give you the location of the first blade. You three fetch it, I'll keep her in my sights, then we'll remove her from the payroll for good."

That night we head to a cemetery where Crowley told us to go, and we do what we were told to do. We dig out a coffin and Dean prys it open to find a freshly buried corpse, but the smell was putrid.

"Oh! Come on Crowley! You really, uh, uh, have to hide the blade in a corpse? Not...not with a corpse but in a corpse?"

"I got to say, it's not the first place I'd look."

"Which was probably the whole point."

"Alright, here we go."

Just then we hear growling in the distance.

"Um Dean?"

"Do you hear that?"

"I'm guessing hellhound. Go. Go!" Dean says as we take off running, getting into a tomb behind a gate door.

Dean quickly dials Crowley.

"Oh. Hello?" He answers.

"Damn it Crowley, the grave is guarded!"

"That's absurd."

"A hellhound!"

"No, no, no, she was collected."

"The hell she was!"

"Guys!"

"Time was, no one would dare disobey the king."

"Guys!"

"I'm gonna put you on speaker!"

"Juliet? It's papa. Stand down. You're welcome."

We then return to the corpse, Dean cuts it open to get the blade.

"Alright, going in."

"Hey, you know what? Maybe uh...maybe I should do this."

"He's got a point Dean."

"Sam, it's fine. I...I-I can safely grab it without...you know..."

"No you can't."

Sam then goes and manages to pull it out.

"Pbht."

"Well, let's go kill a knight of hell, huh?"

"Yeah."

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm boardin' the ship when I go back! I want to go back to my life!"

"It's not a good idea. I'm going to the colonies. I'm workin' my way across. I've given my word!"

"Gavin, listen to your father. I know what's...best for you. Kids." He says before his phone rings. "Squirrel. I hope you were nice to your father."

"What? Shut up. Look, we got the blade."

"You do? Well, you need to get it here at once. Cleveland, Humboldt hotel. Penthouse of course. When you get here, I'll take you to Abaddon. I'll draw her out, and then you can skewer the ignorant hag. Just selling it." He says the last part to Abaddon quietly.

"Alright, we're on our way."

"Oh and Dean, you need to get a move on. It's a good day's drive from Poughkeepsie."

"What are you talking about? We're not even near there."

"Yeah, like I said, you need to leave Poughkeepsie right away."

"So we good?" Sam asks.

"Yeah."

"Nice. But here's the thing...you've been plotting with those three for some time now. When they get here, it'll be you, the Winchesters, Brooke, the first blade, and little old me in one place. Now, I don't mind stiff odds, but...let's be reasonable." Abaddon states, taking a gun out and shooting Crowley.

"Aah! You lost your mind?!"

"Little trick I learned form Henry Winchester. He pulled the same stunt on me. I had a devil's trap carved in the bullet. You're not seriously damaged, just...powerless."

"I had nothing to do with it. I never would've agreed to meet if I thought concealed assassins were going to try and attack you. I hope you know that." Gadreel explains to Cas once they've gotten out of the forest and into the city.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Even though you and I are on opposite sides in this situation, I believe there must be honor, even in matters of war."

"But what happened...doesn't it prove my point about Metatron? You met with me in good faith, but he lied, and he used you to get at me."

"Castiel..."

"Just as poor judgment undid you all those centuries ago, your mistaken trust in Metatron will bring you down again."

"I gave him my word. Do you expect me to come make war on him?"

"No. Not at all. I want you to stay right where you are. Just tive me reports on what Metatron is planning and when he will strike."

"And the honor we were speaking of?"

"Obviously Metatron has someone inside my camp. It's how he knew we were meeting. Just fighting fire with fire. Consider my offer."

We soon, the next day arrived in Cleveland and parked a bit away from the hotel.

"Alright. Let's do this."

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a sec. We should give this place a once-over before we go up there."

"Okay. Why?"

"Crowley said he thought he saw some demons headed down to the basement. He'd have checked it out himself, but if word got back to Abaddon that he'd been seen..."

"When did he say all this?"

"Yeah, when?"

"On the phone. Look, it might mean that she knows that he's here, okay? So why don't you two check out the basement. I'll uh, take a look on the main floor." Dean says as he takes the blade from Sam and when we go inside, he goes right to the penthouse, while Sam and I go into the basement.

"Hello Dean. Love the crazy bloodlust in your eyes. Let's not waste time. I'll take you to Abaddon. It's not far." He says, just as one of his demon guards comes out and Dean kills him with the blade.

But then he's throw back and up against the wall.

"A boy and his blade. And still no match for the new queen."

With Sam and I in the basement, we look around, not really finding anything.

"So, first...you'll die...painfully. And then Crowley will watch his son die...ditto...and then the king himself. And blade destroyed. That's quite a to-do list."

The mark on his arm then begins to glow and he fights against Abaddon's power as he gets down from the wall. She hits him again, but he manages to stand against it. She hits him again and he's still standing against it, and wind starts to howl and blow inside the room because of her power. The closer she gets, she keeps hitting him with her power and this time she's successful as he's up against the wall again and he drops the blade. Still using her power, Dean fights against it and focuses on the blade and it flies into his hand. He gets down from the wall and Sam and I walk in just in time to see him kill her.

"Dean. Dean! Dean! Stop! You can stop." Sam says once Dean starts beating the hell out of her face, and he drops the blade.

Shortly after, he goes into the bathroom to clean up since his hands were covered in blood, and Sam gave Crowley a blade so he could get the bullet out that had the devil's trap carved into it.

"You could at least...aah! Help me with this."

"We didn't kill you Crowley, even though it would've been very easy. Isn't that enough?"

"You owe me. Do I get no credit for warning you this was a trap? Poughkeepsie ring a bell? I sense drama."

"I just still can't get over the fact that Crowley has a son. How's he doing by the way?"

"Ow! How do you think?"

"You get that he's got to go back, right? To his own time?"

"If the lad goes back, his destiny is to board a ship bound for America. That ship went down in a storm. All hands were lost. He had once chance in this world to change his life. You want that to all end in tragedy?"

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. Them's the rules. He goes back."

"The lore all says the same thing...you change any one thing in the past, the ripple effect impacts everything that follows."

"Please. No one bends the rules like you two bend the rules. He's one misfit kid. He impacts no one."

"You don't bend that rule, okay? You don't. We'll take him back to the bunker, figure out the spell. That's the way it's got to be."

"Can I at least say goodbye?"

"Guess we owe you that."

"I'll cheer the day when the last trace of humanity leaves me. Feelings."

We wait for him to talk to Gavin, but then the doors shut.

"Oh crap." I mutter and we hurry over, open the doors and they're both gone.

"Damn it, Crowley?!"

"The ship went down? Well, that's a good fit with the rest of my life."

"Mustn't snivel, Gavin. It might fit the old life. This one could be different."

"I don't know the first thing about the 21st century!"

"You'll be fine. Just avoid cheap whiskey and cheap hookers. Look at me, getting all fatherly."

"So this is goodbye then?"

"Yes. Forever. Unless of course, I catch you smoking, in which case, I'll smack you stupid."

"Goodbye then. And thank you...Father."

"Whoa, whoa. Easy, easy. As you were. Goodbye, Gavin. Oh, uh...don't go mentioning that whole 'Prince of Hell' thing. Doesn't play too well in most circles."

"I didn't tell you two about the warning, because I knew what you would do. You would make sure that you were right alongside me going in that room."

"You mean like we always do? Because we're actually partners in this and we watch each other's backs?"

"Yeah Dean. He might be your brother, but I'm your girlfriend. I've been with you through a lot and I'm sure I could've handled helping you back there."

"I don't expect either of you to understand."

"Try us."

"First time I touched that blade...I knew. I knew that I wouldn't be stopped. I knew I would take down Abaddon and anything else if I had to. And it wasn't a hero thing. You know, it wasn't...it was just calm. I knew. And I had to go it alone, you guys."

"Oh. Of course. So it was another time where you had to protect both of us."

"Either one of you could've gotten nabbed by Abaddon, and she could've bargained her way out. We couldn't afford to screw this up."

"Look...I'm glad it worked out, okay? I am. We both are. And I'm gad the blade gives you strength or calm or whatever, but, Dean, I got to say...I'm starting to think the blade is doing something else too."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Controlling you." I say quietly, but not enough so he could hear.

"I don't know. Like, something to you. Look...I'm thinking until we know for sure that we're gonna kill off Crowley, why don't we store the blade somewhere distant? Lock it up somewhere safe? Okay?"

"No."


	23. Stairway to Heaven

**Dixon, Missouri**

"Yeah, give me one scoop of the low-fat, non-dairy vanilla with a quarter teaspoon of the sugar free caramel, and 10 not 9 not 11 blueberries. Got it? Good. What do you want honey?"

"That." The boy points at the sundae a girl is eating.

"Excuse me, I know this is none of my business..."

"You're right, it's not. Go away."

"Where are your parents?"

"I don't have parents. I'm an angel."

"Yeah, you're a little angel. Did your mother know you're sitting here? Eating diabetes?"

"You need to run."

"What?"

"Now." She states as the man who walked in with a coat on and an angel blade comes towards her.

Next thing that happens is the ice cream shop is lit up and all the glass explodes, the girl screaming, obviously being killed. Back at the bunker, Sam was trying to sleep, but Dean had woken him up with music on his phone.

"Nice reflexes. Better hair."

"What's wrong with you? I could've shot you. Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Not tired. And we got work to do, so put on your dancing shoes and let's boogie."

While Sam was getting the morning started, I was with Dean in the library as he was putting together the gear bag.

"Morning Sam." I say yawning.

"So he woke you up too huh?"

"Yeah." I nod.

"Alright. What's up?"

"I called Cas, he said there's something going down in Missouri."

"What kind of something?"

"Said he couldn't talk about it over the phone."

"Why?"

"Because he is a weird guy, okay? He's a weird, dorky...little guy. But he happens to have an army of angels behind him and even though I hate to say it, if we're gonna take a shot at Metatron, he might be useful."

"You think we need the first blade? Why don't we just leave that here?"

"Might be a good idea." I shrug.

"We all talked about this and we decided that.."

"In all fairness, we didn't decide, you did."

"Okay, I decided...that a hockey stick that can kill anything...might come in handy. So sue me."

"How many times have we been around this block? Magic that powerful comes at a price. And right now, we don't know what that price is."

"I'm fine. I'm fan-friggen-tastic."

"And I'm glad, honestly. We both are. I'm not saying we bury the thing. I'm saying we just save it for when we really need it. Crowley, Metatron, the big boss fight. You don't have to have it with you all the time right? I mean, just leave it. Please."

"No problem."

"Thank you."

With that, Dean goes out and loads the car up, before we get properly dressed for the crime scene that Cas told Dean about and then head out to Missouri.

"Agents Spears and Aguilera? FBI?"

"Uh huh."

"Your partner said you'd be along."

"Thank you." I state before we head inside.

"Thank you for coming." Cas says.

"Spears and Aguilera?"

"I've noticed your aliases are usually names of popular musicians."

"Wow."

"Come here and take a look at this. Look. The other bodies are the same. Burnt out husks."

"So what is this, some sort of mass smiting?"

"I don't know what this was. Never seen anything like it. Six humans died here. And one angel."

"One of yours?"

"Good soldier. This attack. I knew he wanted a war, but this...this is a bohorant, even for him."

Meanwhile at Metatron's place, he's looking at himself in the mirror with the exact same trench coat that Cas wears, until there's a knock at the door.

"Uh...just a second."

"I gave you a second."

"You are such an angel sometimes. What do you want?"

"To talk about tonight."

"We'll be fine."

"No we...we're losing Metatron. Castiel's followers outnumber us. And while they haven't gone on offense, they have proven capable. They stopped you from killing him, and me for example."

"I told you we had our shot with operation Lee Harvey and we took it. I gave the orders, you weren't to be harmed."

"You had me followed."

"Yeah, and you met with the enemy. In secret. What is that old line about sins and stones?"

"He spoke. He lied and I listened. That's it. But I serve Heaven. I serve you."

"Good. Don't forget it. I don't get this whole Cas lovefest either. I'm offering our people a way home. And still, still they're choosing him over me. I mean sure he's cute and Castiel has this...simple charm. He's like a mentally deficient puppy. But I'm lovable. And funny. I made God laugh, twice."

"You're the one who asked him to lead an army."

"I didn't think he'd be good at it."

"You're meeting tonight, Tyrus. He controls the largest independent faction of angels left and..."

"...and I have to make a good impression, I know. I've got a plan."

"It's not that is it?" Gadreel asks about the trenchcoat on the chair.

"Shut up."

With us however, we made it back to Cas' angel headquarters.

"Commander."

"Oh, that's just creepy."

"Sam, Dean, Brooke this is Hannah."

"The Winchesters, I've heard so much about you."

"What can I say, Cas is a fan."

"I'll start to examine this evidence."

"Sir, this morning Josiah wasn't at roll call."

"Roll call? You hold a roll call?"

"They like to hear me say their names."

"Ohhh."

"I know a couple of women like that." Dean remarks, which causes me to smack him in the arm.

"No one's seen Josiah since Ezra's been killed. We think that..."

"...that Josiah's the killer, that he was the mole."

"Well who else? We searched the grounds, but he's vanished."

"Not without wings. He's an angel, but he's still got to travel like a human, which means walk, drive..means he's gonna leave a trail."

"Exactly."

"Alright. What was his vessel's name?"

"Sean Flynn, from Omaha."

"This the guy?" Sam asks, turning the computer around to show the picture.

"Yeah, that's him."

"Alright, looks like someone just used his credit card at a Gas n' Sip in Colorado."

"And that's how we do things in the pros."

"Commander? I have something. This phone's memory chip has a video timestamp just before the explosion."

What we see in the video is a man approach a girl, the two angels of course and he opens his coat to reveal this carving on his chest.

_"I do this for Castiel!"_ He screams before stabbing and killing himself and everyone else in the ice cream shop.

"What was that?" I ask what Dean and Sam were obviously thinking.

"I don't know. I didn't...I would never ask an angel to sacrifice himself to kill innocents. I'm gonna be sick."

"Cas, why would an angel blow up a Colonel Scoops in your name?"

"That's not what he was doing. Roll it back." Hannah remarks. "There. That was an angel. Ester. She's one of Metatron's."

"So this was some kind of hit?"

"Seems like it."

"I don't know." Cas adds.

"Stop saying you don't know."

"You can't think I would allow something like this."

"Cas I know you try to be a good guy, I do. You try. But what you got here, this is a freaking cult."

"Dean." Cas tries to stop him from talking.

"The last time you had this kind of juice, you did kill humans and angels you nothing but lie to the three of us about it the whole damn time!"

"Can we take this somewhere else guys?"

"Yeah, seriously. This isn't the place." I add.

Where we do end up going is up to Cas' office.

"Look, we got a case, let's work it. Cas, did you know the angel in that video?"

"Yes. His name was Oren, he was a new recruit. He worked in community outreach."

"What does that mean?"

"It means my troops are stationed at a local hospital. They help where they can. Minor miracles, it's nothing that would draw attention."

"So what was he doing in the video? With the stabbing?"

"The Enochian runes that were carved in his chest I...I think they were meant to focus energy. When he stabbed himself, it unleashed all that power."

"So what about the girl, what happened to her?"

"I mean, she was an angel too so..." I trail off.

"If she was the target the blast was focused on her, more likely than not, she was atomized. So what do we do now?"

"Well you don't do jack. Sam, Brooke and I will head to the hospital and see if we can find somebody who knew this...walking nuke."

"Hold on, these are my people. I can help."

"Well that's sort of the problem. I mean the Manson girls aren't gonna give us a straight answer with Charlie in the room, so...just hang back."

"So I should just sit here."

"Pretty much."

"No. If you don't want my help, then I will follow Jessiah's trail to Colorado. I have to do something Dean."

"Alright fine. But Sam and Brooke's going with you."

"What?"

"Dean..."

"Because you don't trust me?"

"To help."

So Dean heads out of the room himself, leaving Sam and I with Cas, so we decided to at least head out to Colorado with Cas.

"Abaddon is dead."

"Pretty much." I nod.

"And then some."

"Oh no."

"Okay, uh...ominous."

"Does Dean seem different to you two?"

"Yeah. Lately he seems to be...amped up. You know, on edge."

"And he never wants me to really stay with him on cases. Like now, he sends me off with Sam. When we used to always do things together. He's becoming distant from me."

"Effects of the mark?"

"What else?"

"He does seem angry. I mean, he's always a little angry, but now he seems like more. I think a part of him actually believed that I ordered those angels to you know. You two don't do you?"

"No. I trust you." I remark.

"No. Cas, listen. You got a weird thing going on back there. Those other angels and the way they stare at you, it's like...part rockstar part L. Ron."

"They've put their faith in me."

"And maybe that's the problem. I mean people have been doing messed up crap in the name of faith and in the name of God. Since forever."

"Well, not trying to play God. Just trying to get my people home."

In the meantime, Metatron and Gadreel were at a bowling alley with a fellow angel.

"Yes! well done!"

"It's such a simple game. And boy, you got to love the sound of those pins."

"Beautiful...a symphony of wood. So, you've heard our offer."

"Yeah, I sign on the dotted line, and well, my people, they get a ticket upstairs. What if we don't want to go?"

"But it's home."

"It's boring. I mean, you...there's nothing like this in Heaven."

"I could whip you up a bowling alley."

"Eh, but it wouldn't...I mean, just smell that. Mmm."

"Old shoes and...alcoholism? I..."

"Authenticity."

"So, wait. You're turning me down because of...bowling?"

"And I like being an independent operator. And I hear you're losing. And I hate your face."

"Well, I could get a new face."

"You'd still be you. A nerd trying to be one of the popular kids. Mnh-mmm."

"Okay. Time for the hard sell." Metatron says as he takes out an angel blade.

"Please. You knife me, and all my guys will go running to Castiel. Even you're not that stupid. But tell you what, huh? You out-bowl me, we'll talk?"

In Colorado, Sam, Cas and myself had gone to the Gas N' Sip where Josiah was last was, asking if he anyone saw him.

"Yeah, I saw him officers. He filled up some old, uh, woody station wagon."

"Don't suppose you, uh, got the license plate number?"

"No. But he was headed to an address in Pray, Montana."

"How do you know that?"

"Guy asked for directions."

"Oh."

"Uh, you want me to write that down?"

"That would be helpful, thanks." I nod.

"Now. Please." Sam adds.

Dean however was busy himself with the case, doing some interrogation with angels to find out some information on Oren himself.

"What do I call you?"

"My angelic name is 18 syllables long. Let's stick with Flagstaff."

"Copy. So, you knew this Oren guy?"

"We worked together at the hospital. He was a joy...bright, full of life."

"Yeah, I hear he had a real explosive personality."

"Do you think this is a joke?"

"Do you see me laughing? Is there anything else you can tell me about him? For example, why he'd light his own fuse."

"No. Can I go? I have lives to save."

"Welcome to the club. Something funny?"

"Not funny 'ha ha'. But you thinking you help people...it's amusing. I help people. A clogged artery here, a tumor there. I do good in this world. You...you believe every problem can be solved with a gun. You play the hero, but underneath the hype, you're a killer with oceans of blood on his hands. I hate men like you."

That sends Dean over the edge and he flips the table and has her on the ground with the chair flipped, taking out the angel blade.

"Honey, there ain't no other men like me."

"Don't...please."

"Oren. Friends?"

"Constantine...and Tessa."

"Tessa? The reaper, Tessa?"

"You know her?"

**Pray, Montana**

Sam, Cas and myself have arrived at the address where Josiah got directions to, and it was an old, abandoned building.

"That looks like the car the guy at the gas station was talking about, right?" Sam asks.

"Sure does." I nod, as we're all getting out of the car.

"Maybe Josiah's still around."

"Guys, this place is...radiating power. I haven't felt anything like this since...since Heaven. We have to get in here."

We reach the door and I try to get in, but it seems to be locked. But of course, there's always a way in when you pick the lock, and that's just what Sam steps in to do.

"Alright." He says and goes to try the door again, but it still won't budge.

"Are you sure you picked the lock?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Step aside. I got this." Cas tells us, and we do so.

It's not any easier for him either, as he tries running into the door shoulder-first, and it doesn't budge for him either.

"So you..."

"I don't got this."

"No kidding."

Tessa however was following people inside a theater for a show, when Dean spots her and stops her.

"Howdy Tessa. You're supposed to be working at the hospital tonight, but when I stopped by, you were gone. So was an ambulance. Pro tip...they all have GPS."

"Good to know. So you're here. Why? You just love musical theater?"

"Only if it's 'Fiddler'. We need to talk."

"Can't. Sorta got a date."

That's when he grabs her and turns her back around towards him and that's when he notices a carving on her skin.

"Not happening."

She tries to get free from him, but he's fast and gets her in handcuffs.

"Where's the other one? Where's Constantine?"

"Better luck next time." Tyrus says, since he beat Metatron in bowling.

"Metatron!" Constantine gets his attention and reveals the carving on his chest. "I do this for Castiel." He says before stabbing himself and Gadreel shields Metatron from the explosion.

With the three of us, it got to nightfall and Sam had gone to check all the doors and windows and see if we could get inside.

"Any luck?" I ask when he comes back.

"I checked all the windows and doors. No luck. What about you two? You find anything?"

"I didn't."

"I think so." Cas nods. "It's Enochian. I believe it's some sort of riddle." He continues as we see the invisible symbols on the wall. "Why is six afraid of seven? Now I assume it's because seven is a prime number, and prime numbers can be intimidating."

"It's because seven eight nine." Sam and I say at the same time.

And with that, the door opens.

"It's wordplay. And the answer is the key, like the doors or Durin in 'Lord of the Rings'. "

"Wait a second. You know about the 'Lord of the Rings'?"

"I'm very pop-culture savvy now."

Then Sam's phone goes off, obviously it being Dean.

"Hey."

"How is he?"

"He's uh...He's Cas. What about you? How's it going?"

"Great. Went out, got some air. Met an old friend. Say hi to Sam, Tessa."

"Your brother's a psycho, Sam."

"Stop."

"What's going on?"

"You first."

"I know he's the commander's friend, and I know we're supposed to pretend we like him, but that ape put a knife to my throat." Flagstaff explains to Hannah and them.

"Tessa?" Hannah asks, confused as to why Dean brought her there. "What are you doing?"

"You want to tell her?"

She doesn't, so Dean has to show Hannah, and he shows her the carving on her chest.

"Oh god."

"There's no God. There's only Castiel."

"Oh, and you're done." Dean says as he takes her away to the interrogation room.

"You wounded her."

"More like 'defused', okay? I cut up that old testament graffiti she carved into herself. I figured that would break the spell."

"And now...what will you do to her?"

"Guess."

"Torture. Predictable."

"We need to know if there are other bombers out there."

"No. I won't allow it. I know what Tessa was planning. It's horrible, but there's only one person who can punish her."

"Let me guess. Yea big, trench coat, sensible shoes?"

"You have to understand that Castiel is the only thing holding us together. A month ago, half the angels in this place were trying to kill the other half. Castiel has given us a purpose. But more than that, he has given us a way to live in peace. We have rules. Order. If I let you take matters into your own hands, what's to stop one of them from doing the same? You can talk to her. You should talk to her. But leave the blade outside."

"Are you asking or telling?"

"We're not asking."

He agrees and hands it over before heading into the room.

"You sure you don't want to go back, Cas? Look, if Dean is right about Tessa..."

"No, I, uh...I do. I just...give me a second."

"'Only the penitent man shall pass'? Guys, wait!" Sam exclaims and Cas makes me duck with him as blades almost chop our heads off.

"Jeez...thanks Cas." I say as I sigh in relief, before we continue on.

"The Last Crusade. Okay."

"Well, let's start with an easy one. Who are you working for?"

"Castiel."

"Liar."

"People like you, they never understand. Sacrifices have to be made."

"So you go after one of the bad guys and if a few humans get microwaved, no big deal, right?"

"In the grand scheme, they don't matter."

"Oh, Tessa, you are so wrong."

"When Castiel came to me and told me what I had to do, he said I was chosen because I was strong. Others...they couldn't handle this. They're too weak."

Hannah then charges towards Tessa, but Dean stops her and holds her back, before bringing her outside.

"Settle down!"

"Do you think she's telling the truth?"

"She thinks she is."

"Guys. We found it." Cas states as we come to a door with bright light coming from it.

"What?"

"It's the door to Heaven."

"Seriously?"

"That's the door? I always pictured it as a just a white light...no actual door." I raise an eyebrow.

"What else would Metatron go to such great lengths to protect? I can hear it. It's calling to me guys. If we control this door, we can take the fight to Metatron. We may not even need to fight at all."

"Cas, wait."

When he opens the door, it's nothing more than a room full of party supplies and food and such.

"What the hell?"

"I would say this is not Heaven."

"Welcome to your own personal Heaven, Castiel. Good luck finding the real one." Sam reads off a card.

"But...why?"

When Sam turns around, he sees someone sitting on the ground, slumped down against a wall.

"Who..."

"It's Josiah. He reeks of holy oil."

"Yeah. Looks like he got 'Home alone'-ed."

"So all of this...it was a lie"

Just then Josiah comes to life and grabs Cas' hand.

"...supposed to be here. Gate...he told me...after Ezra, he told me that I should come to him. Metatron told me that I could go home. I just wanted to go home."

"Here. Let me."

"No! I would rather die than owe my life to you, Castiel. You play at being noble. You play at being one of us. But I look into your eyes...and I don't see an angel staring back at me."

"Where's your friend?" Tessa asks when Dean comes back in.

"Just you and me now. Let's talk about us. I mean, we got history, yeah?"

"Sure. I still remember out meet-cute. You were dying."

"Good times. Here's the deal. I like you, Tess, okay? For an angel. But tell me, why are you doing this?"

"Castiel."

"No, forget Cas. Why are you doing this? What would make a person want to pop their top, huh? I mean, look, I've been in bad shape. I have. But I have never been that damn low."

"I guess I just can't take the screaming."

"Who's screaming?"

"All of them. The lost souls. The ones that can't get into Heaven now that it's been boarded up. I hear them. They are so confused. They're in so much pain. All I want to do is help them. It's what I do. It's my job. But I can't. So I suffered...until death, nothingness. Suddenly, it didn't seem so bad. It seemed quiet."

"So, why don't you just jam an angel blade in your throat and call it a day?"

"I thought about it. But I was too weak...till Castiel gave me a reason to die."

"Yeah. See, that just doesn't sound like the Cas I know."

"But doesn't it though? And the Cas you know, would he raise an army of angels without telling you? 'Cause this Cas did. I'll tell you a secret. There's more out there...like me. So many more."

"You got names?"

"That would ruin all the fun."

"No. No, see..." Dean trails off, revealing the first blade. "...the fun's just getting started."

"Dean, what have you done?"

"What I had to."

"Welcome to the club." She states before she grabs Dean by the shoulders and stabs herself with the first blade so to speak. "Thank you."

That causes Hannah and them to rush in and Dean gives them a look of 'it's not what it looks like'. We're obviously notified of this and rush right back as fast as we can. When we get there, we find Dean in the room and clearly he's taken a beating from the other angels.

"He put up a fight."

"Get out."

"You should've seen the other 10 guys."

"They said you killed Tessa?"

"Yeah Dean, what's up with that?"

"Not so much. She knifed herself."

"Yeah? Why would she do that Dean?"

"I don't know Sam. She was saying all kinds of crap."

"So that's why you brought out the first blade?"

"I thought we said to leave it behind at the bunker because we didn't need it right now?"

"They told you about that huh?"

"Uh yeah, kinda." I say with an attitude.

"We had a deal."

"Yeah well, it was a stupid deal."

"Really? 'Cause if you'd stuck to it, Tessa would still be alive. Without her, we ain't got jack."

"You think I wanted that to happen?"

"I don't know Dean, did you want it to happen?"

"Alright, that's enough. Stop it." Cas stops us, and then the door opens and Hannah walks in.

"Commander, I'm sorry, but...you have a call...from Metatron."

We all walk out and find Metatron via webcam on a computer.

"Castiel. Bet you're not happy to see me."

"Is anyone ever?"

"No kidding." I roll my eyes.

"Dean, always with the B-grade, '80s action movie wit."

"What do you want Metatron?" Sam asks.

"Just to tell Ass-tiel there, that I'm still alive. His bomber failed."

"My bomber?"

"The crazy guy. Big knife. Kablooey. I'm fine, thanks for asking, but Gadreel is wounded, and Tyrus...R.I.P. His followers are not your biggest fans by the way. They've all come over to my team."

"I didn't send anyone to kill you."

"Oh, stop lying Castiel."

"Who are you to lecture me on lying? Your deception led to the fall."

"I did what I had to do. I have always done what I have to do, for God and for the angels."

"Sure. Yeah, you're Mother Teresa with neck beard." Dean insults.

"What I did was neither good nor bad. It was necessary...a small hardship to...make us all stronger, to make us a family again."

"Yeah, except for the angels you had Gadreel kill."

"And Kevin." I add.

"Okay, yes. Maybe I got a little carried away at first, but those days are over. A near-death experience makes you re-evaluate. So, one time only, I'm offering amnesty. Every angel, no matter what their sin, may join me and return to Heaven. I will be their God, and they can be my heavenly host."

"Why would we follow you?"

"Well, look around. You've seen Earth. You've had a taste of free will. I got to ask you...do you like it? I mean, the way you've flocked off to follow Castiel tells me you need to follow someone. It's in your DNA. But Cas...he's not what you think he is. He sends angels out to die. Have you told them about your stolen grace, Castiel? How it's fading away, and when it burns out, so will you? So...no, then. I'm not the best, but I'm the best you've got. You want to stay with Castiel, fine, but he's playing you, because at the end of the day, the only thing he cares about is himself and the Hardy Boys there and one of their girlfriends. You've got a choice to make. Make the right one."

"He's lying."

"About the grace?" Hannah questions.

"It's complicated."

"So he wasn't lying."

"He was about everything else. He...you believe me don't you?"

"I want to believe you, but I...we need proof."

"Name it."

"Punish him." Hannah says about Dean.

"What?"

"You're kidding me right?" I question.

"He murdered Tessa. He broke our rules."

"Y'all can all go to hell."

"Dean."

That's when the angels grab Dean and stop him. That causes Sam and I go move, but we get stopped as well.

"Get your hands off me!" I exclaim as I struggle.

"You gave us order, Castiel, and we gave you our trust. Don't lose it over one man. This is justice." She says, handing him a blade.

"Cas...please don't." I plead with him.

"No. I can't."

I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Goodbye Castiel."

We're then all let go, as everyone leaves.

"You're right. There is no other side. Well, welcome aboard. Well...the first of Castiel's flock has come around. The rest will follow."

"You should have told me what our elite unit was for."

"Why? It was none of your business."

"Tessa, Constantine...I recruited them, and you...brainwashed them into blowing themselves up."

"So?" Metatron chuckles. "Well, that's an old writer's trick...flipping the script. You start by building up a seemingly unbeatable enemy, like the Death Star, or a rival angel with a bigger army. That way, I look like the underdog. But then, oh, no! The competition gets greedy. He starts pushing things too much...with the help of my combustible double agents. And then, after a rousing speech, his true weakness is revealed. He's in love with humanity. And now...I'm inevitable."

"What about Josiah?"

"Mm. He was a loose end. I..I told him where the gate was...before we moved it. I just wish Cas had walked into one of those traps. Anyway, point is...while everyone else is playing checkers, I'm playing Monopoly, and I always build a hotel on Boardwalk. And I always win."

Since leaving Cas' headquarters of his former angel army, we set out on the road and it was a quiet road trip until we got to the bunker.

"So Dean, uh...are we gonna talk about this, or what?"

"About what? Yeah, I lied, but you two were being infants. I expected it out of Sam, but from you Brooke?"

"Excuse me? Sorry for looking out for you."

"Wow. Even for you, that apology sucked."

"Oh, I'm not apologizing. I'm telling you how it's gonna be."

"Dean, that blade..."

"That blade's the only thing that can kill Metatron, and I am the only one who can use it...so from here on out, I'm calling the shots. Capisce? Look until I jam that blade through that douchebag's heart, we are not a team. This is a dictatorship. Now you two don't have to like it, but that's how it's gonna be."

We just watch him walk into the library where Cas is, before we head to our rooms to put our stuff there. Well I had chosen to take a room for myself since Dean was being a dick so to speak and I didn't want to deal with him after what he just said.

"So, batteries..."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. How long you got?"

"Long enough to destroy Metatron, I hope. But without an army..."

"Well, hey, you still got us."

"Dean. Those bombers..you don't really think that I..."

"Cas, you just gave up an entire army for one guy. No, there's no way that you blew those people away."

"You really believe we four will be enough?"

"We always have been."

Just as Sam and I finally make our way back out to Cas and Dean, we see Gadreel in the bunker.

"Guys!"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm not here to fight. I thought about what you said. You're right. Metatron, he's...something needs to be done."

"And we should trust you why?"

"Yes, please enlighten us."

"Because I can give him to you. I know where Metatron is. I know everything. I know the bombers. They...they were his agents, not yours. You don't trust me, fine. I understand, I've...made mistakes. But haven't you? Haven't we all? At least give me a chance."

Dean walks up to him and holds out his hand for him to shake, but when he takes it and shakes hands with Dean, he goes and takes the first blade and cuts him across the chest. It takes me, Cas and Sam to hold him back from completely killing Gadreel altogether.


	24. Do You Believe In Miracles?

So, we were still holding Dean back after what he just did to Gadreel, before Dean was able to get free.

"Drop the blade Dean!" Sam demands.

"Move."

"Dean, listen to him, drop the blade!" I exclaim.

"Sam...Brooke, move!"

That's when Cas grabs him from behind so that he couldn't move, while Sam and I grab his wrist and try to get Dean to let go of the blade.

"Let it go Dean, let it go."

He finally does and to keep him from killing Gadreel, we bring him to the dungeon, to lock him up so he's safe there and can keep from doing harm to anyone.

"The hell if you think I'm riding the pine on this one, guys."

"Something is wrong with you, Dean."

"Very wrong." I add.

"And until we figure out what, this is where you have to stay."

"And you three are gonna do what? Take on Metatron yourselves? That's smart. Oh, no, wait. No, you...you lost your angel army. And you, you're trying to lock up the guy who loves you. And you...now you're trying to lock up the one guy who has a shot at killing the son of a bitch! Hell of a plan, guys!"

"Dean, we're doing this for your own good." I state, before the three of us walk out and lock him in there.

"Look, hey, guys. Sam. Brooke."

"I'm sorry Dean, you know I love you too, but we have to do this." I say before we all walk away.

"Guys?" Cas gets our attention.

"Yeah."

"What's up?"

"Dean...wasn't wrong. My followers have abandoned us."

"Yeah, and Gadreel says he can help us. From where I sit, that's more than an even trade." Sam says as he puts the blade away, and we head out to where we left Gadreel, only to find him not there.

"Where'd he go?"

Dean however in the meantime just happened to be throwing up something, which caused him to bleed, so he must have been coughing up blood.

"So, uh, Metatron. Metatron. God?"

"Just a second."

"Is that the new angel handbook you're working on, or, uh...?"

"No, no, this is a story, Neil, a marvelous story, full of love and heartbreak and...love."

"Sort of like 'The Notebook'."

"Uh..."

"I love 'The Notebook'."

"No. Quick. Which makes me look more pathetic?"

"Why do you want to look pathetic? You just reunited all the angels under the banner of Heaven. I mean, that's like..."

"...winning a People's Choice award? not quite the real deal, now is it? All set?"

"Uh, yes sir. Uh, flip the switch...wait for the like, and bingo."

"And every angel in Heaven and on Earth will hear me?"

"You and only you. The signal blocks out all other voices on angel radio. Come on."

"Hello? This is Metatron."

"More reverb."

"Because I'm Lou Gehrig?"

"Sorry."

"Don't do that. I'd like to take a moment to welcome you all back. I want you to know how moved I am that you've accepted me as your new God. My heart, as they say, is full, which is why I want to share some wonderful news with you. I'm going on a short trip. Heaven's door will be temporarily closed pending my return, but rest assured all will be explained. And it will be...glorious."

"Where are you going?"

"To tell the rest of the story."

Sam, Cas and myself had set out to find Gadreel, and we finally came upon a car, that had blood everywhere. We followed the trail to find Gadreel in the grass.

"Please, I'll leave you alone, I swear."

"We're not here to hurt you." Cas says as he goes to heal him.

"No. Your grace. Healing me will only weaken you."

He doesn't care and heals him anyway.

"Did you hear him?"

"Metatron. Yes. Where is he going? What does he want?"

"I'm afraid...humanity."

"Ohh...god!" Crowley says as he's getting a massage.

"I would have thought you'd be more relaxed...having defeated Abaddon."

"What can I say? I wear my stress."

"You know...with so many demons having rallied back to your side, well it's only natural that they would look to their...king. For some...direction."

"Love, if I wanted a soapy massage from Dr. Phil, I would have hit 3 on the speed dial, alright?"

"I'm sorry sir. Sir, I believe you're being summoned. It's a Winchester."

And indeed he was being summoned, by Dean.

"What's that smell?"

"What the hell's happening to me, you son of a bitch?"

"Liquor before beer, bad taco? How should I know?"

"I can't turn it off! Ever since I killed Abaddon, it's...it's like this whole...other thing. I get this high, and I-I-I need to kill. I mean, I really, really need to kill. And if I don't..."

"You yak your guts out. It's the mark."

"Meaning?"

"It wants you to kill. The more you kill, the better you feel. The less you kill, the less better you feel."

"How much less better?"

"One would imagine the least-best better."

"So dead? Well, Cain had the mark. He didn't die."

"Cain was a demon. Your body's not strong enough to contain the blade's power."

"What if I got rid of it?"

"You want to get rid of it?"

"What I want is Metatron."

"Go on."

"But I have to get through that door, and I have to get to the blade. And you're gonna help me."

Dean did indeed get out and got the blade and they left before we could even come back.

"Oh, no." Sam states when we walk in.

"What?" I ask as I look around him to see. "Oh you've got to be kidding."

"What's that smell?"

"Sulfur."

"Crowley." I add.

"I can't believe him." Sam says as he starts to dial Dean. "Dean, pick up the phone. Call me back. Or call Brooke. We're not kidding, alright? Don't do this. Not like this."

"Are you sure it was Crowley?"

"Positive." I nod.

"Who else would he summon?"

"Exactly."

"I mean, he and Crowley have been bromancing over the blade ever since Dean got the mark."

"The mark?"

"The mark of Cain."

"So that's what Dean cut me with...the first blade. In a way, that could be useful."

"What?"

"Well, Metatron is more powerful than ever, but if Dean has the first blade and the mark, that might give us our best chance."

"You're joking right? An hour ago, we were ready to throw Dean into a padded cell, and now you say he's our best chance?"

"Hear him out Sam."

"Oh, right. Excuse me. Sorry, guys. Uh, sorry I'm a little less than eager to hear that our best chance is...is arming the warhead and hoping it hits the mark. This is not a bomb we're talking about. This is my brother."

"And you know how I feel about him." I add.

"And he would not be in this alone. We can help."

"How?"

"I believe Metatron has found a way to tap into the angel tablet, harnessing its power to give him powers equivalent to..."

"God, right? I mean, that's what this is all about, isn't it? Metatron wants to be God. Great, well, that basically makes him unstoppable."

"Not if we can break the connection between Metatron and the tablet. That would make him just an ordinary angel. Where's the tablet?"

"Metatron's office."

"In Heaven?"

"I can get us to the door."

"And then what? I mean, why would they let you in? I-if Metatron's number two shows up with Heaven's most wanted, the gig is up."

"Sam, we have to try."

"Damn it Al, I don't care what you've got going on tonight. He's your kid too, and I'm telling you he's on drugs." A woman is talking to her husband on the phone, before walking out into the street and getting killed by a car.

"Oh my god! Oh my god. She's dead man! She's dead."

"I'm not so sure about that." Metatron grins.

Dean and Crowley however get to this diner and sit at a table to discuss things at least.

"What can I get you fellas?"

"Coffee black."

"Are you serious? You take this girl's table, her time, you spread out like an overgrown teenager, and for what? What the tip on a single cup of joe? A nickel?"

"Double cheeseburger...everything, heavy on the onions."

"You got it."

"So this what you, Moose and Brooke do, eh? Crisscross the country, searching for evil, order your nitrates, partake of the local attraction."

"Yep."

"You never get tired of the rat race? Never get the urge to just...bugger off and howl at the moon? Never ask yourself, 'is this it? Is this all there is?'. I kicked human blood, you know."

"Oh, so you're full-metal douche again. Well that's fantastic. Would you liked a stuffed bear?"

"Just trying to make conversation."

"How's Hell, Crowley?"

"Hell's fine. Hell's like a swiss watch. Don't worry about Hell. Hell's complicated."

"Game of Thrones is complicated. Shower sex...that's complicated. Hell ain't complicated. Your problem ain't Hell. It's you."

"Fair enough. What's your problem, then?"

"My problem is Metatron. Right now there's nothing. There's no angel smitings, no crazy acts of God, no vermin, hail. If Metatron's making his move on Earth, he is taking his sweet ass time."

"Never fear. Cavalry's here."

"And?"

"Apparently...your angel has gone viral." Crowley says, handing a phone to him to see what he was given.

_"And that, America, is perfection."_

_"Yo, dude, that's your sister."_

And in the background the woman gets hits by the car.

_"Oh my god! She's dead man! She's dead."_

_"I'm not so sure about that."_

Metatron is then seen bringing her back to life.

_"Is he ser...is he freaking serious?! Did you see that?! Holy...tell me you just got that. Dude, what's your name?"_

_"Marv."_

"When was this taken?"

"A couple of hours ago. Muncie, Indiana."

"What did he whisper in her ear?"

"Exactly."

Dean then starts to pack up and leave the diner to head to Muncie, Indiana.

"Whoa whoa whoa. You're not gonna eat your food?"

"Not hungry." Dean says as he slaps down some money to pay the bill.

"The door to Heaven is in a playground?"

"Guarded by two of Metatron's most loyal. I recruited them myself. So, you said you had a plan...how we might convince them to let us pass."

"Wookiee." Cas says as he holds up the handcuffs with sigils on them.

"Brother, I have no idea what that means."

"It's a reference to a very popular film that...never mind."

"Asariel."

"Asariel, Purah, make way."

"The door's closed Gadreel, by orders of Metatron."

"And who do you think gave the order to capture Castiel? Unless you think Metatron isn't interested in questioning the leader of the rebellion?"

"The spell must be redrawn."

"As quickly as possible then."

Since Crowley and Gadreel were off on their own, Sam and I went off on our own, after finding out about the miracle done by Crowley. We stood outside her trailer, as we watched Dean and Crowley pull up.

"I got this."

"I guess one of us doesn't need a demon to help follow a clue trail. You're looking for miracle lady right? Yeah, she's gone. We had a nice chat with her though."

"Sam, whatever kind of intervention you think this is, trust me, it ain't. I'm not gonna explain myself to either of you."

"Yeah we sort of got that. I just thought you might like to know that while you two have been playing, uh, odd couple, your real friends like Cas, like the angel you stabbed...Gadreel...they're out there right now risking their asses to help you win this fight."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"A fight I might add, you made that much more complicated when you decided to stab the one angel who could actually get us to Metatron."

"You mean the angel that took you for a joy ride? The angel that slaughtered Kevin? That angel?"

"Who you let in the front door in the first place. You tricked me Dean. And now I'm the one who wakes up in the middle of the night seeing my hands killing Kevin, not you. So please, when you say you don't want to explain anything to either of us, don't. We get it. And we also get that Metatron has to go. And we know you're our best shot to do that."

"I'm gonna take my shot, for better or worse."

"I know."

"No matter the consequences."

"I know. But if this is it, we're gonna do it together. You want to know what he whispered to her, right, in the video? His next stop."

"So what are we all gollywagging on about? Chop chop."

"Nice to see you too Crowley." I remark.

"Excuse me. I'm not exactly demon minion number three here. As the kids say, I've got mad skills."

"Look, I don't know what you expected here, okay. I don't really care. But you wanted off the hamster wheel. Get off."

"Well, I guess I've been winchestered. I'd wish you three good luck...if I thought it would help."

The door to Heaven had been opened and Cas and Gadreel stepped inside and came out of an elevator.

"Well done. We've sent word to Metatron. He'll be back shortly. You can wait inside."

"Thank you Ingrid."

They step inside and then the room changes into cells.

"What's going on?"

"No, no, no, no! Not here!"

"Did you really think your little ruse would work?"

"Please. Please!"

"Welcome to Heaven's jail, Castiel. I believe Gadreel can give you the tour."

Metatron in the meantime had arrived at his next location.

"Excuse me. I'm sorry, but are you...Marv? This is my friend George."

"I hear you perform miracles."

"It's a burden I accept."

"A little single malt?"

"George."

"What?"

"How about we take care of that diabetes? Left you a little something to celebrate with."

"Thank you."

"He's a fraud!"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, good sir. How can one be a fraud when one offers nothing? A little love, a little hope, the occasional miracle...nothing more."

"You know exactly what I mean...Metatron."

"Excuse me?"

"His name is Metatron. And much as he'd like you to think...he's not one of you. He's an angel. We both are."

"An angel? Okay. Somebody's been drinking out of George's canteen."

"So you deny you're the former scribe of God..."

"Sir."

"...a petty, unliked, unloved angel..."

"...these people don't want to hear..."

"...driven by the relentless pursuit of power and nothing more..."

"This has really gone too far."

"...who's already brought the rest of the angels under his iron thumb."

"As I will you, brother, if you don't..."

"Shut your mouth! Angel? Scribe of God? Please."

"It's true."

"What is true is what I can see with my own two eyes. You want to call him pathetic, common? Be my guest. Who here isn't? But who here has the gift that this man has? Do you know what he did?"

"And I'm afraid if you'd seen what I've seen, you'd think of him as nothing more than an abomination."

"Abomination?! Try miracle worker!"

"Try Messiah."

"Better."

"I am sorry you don't believe me. But I must do what my mission demands. I must protect you."

"Yeah, that's not gonna, uh...they love me. They really, really love me. A little help." He says as he kicks the blade over to them and they kill him."

"Anything?" Sam asks when we're close by at nightfall.

"Uh yeah. He's up there. A mile up the road. There's a homeless encampment. The way the folks are talking, he's got them convinced he's some kind of new Jesus or something. You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Listen Sammy, about um...you know the last couple of months..."

"I know. So, before we find something else to fight about...tell me...are you ready to gut this bitch?" Sam asks before Dean hits him and knocks him out.

"Dean what are you doing?!"

"What I have to. I'm not gonna hurt you so I wouldn't stand in my way. This isn't your fight nor is it his." He says as he takes the blade from him before walking off.

"Dean...Dean...Dean!"

He doesn't answer me, and just keeps walking. I drop down to my knees and try to get Sam to come to so we can help Dean as quick as we could.

"Okay, so you're telling me that Metatron set you up, arranged those suicide bombers to make himself look like the victim."

"Gadreel was his second in command. For what other reason than the truth would he turn against Metatron?"

"So now I'm expected to trust the word of an angel who's only ever thought of himself since the garden, and you? You told us not a single angle more would die in this fight."

"What do you think I have been trying to do?"

"Trying? By killing Metatron?"

"He is the reason for all of our suffering."

"Nothing you say matters."

"Would you rather I not try at all?"

"Not if you can't prove it."

"So give us a chance. Let us out Hannah. Please."

"Can I help you?" George asks Dean as he walks into the encampment.

"Take it easy, chief."

"You're Dean Winchester."

"Now, how did you know that?"

"He said you were coming."

"Well, here I am. Where's Metatron?"

"Marv."

"Sure."

"In there...praying for our forgiveness."

"Forgiveness for what? Is he now?"

"I sat in this hole for thousands of years, thinking of nothing but redemption, of reclaiming my good name. I thought of nobody, no cause, other than my own."

"You've been redeemed, my friend."

"The only thing that matters in the end is the mission...protecting those who would not and cannot protect themselves...the humans. None of us is bigger than that. And we will not let our fears, our self-absorption prevent us from seeing it through. Not anymore."

"No. Of course not."

"Move to the other side of your cell, Castiel, and keep your head down."

"What are you doing?"

"When they say my name, perhaps I won't just be the one who let the serpent in."

"Don't!"

"Perhaps I will be known as one of the many..."

"...Gadreel..."

"...who gave Heaven a second chance. Run, sister."

"Gadreel."

With that, he stabs the carvings he made on his chest and he's dead.

"Do you believe him now?"

"You can save the humble pie Jesus routine for somebody who gives a damn."

"The problem with you Dean, is the cynicism. Always with the cynicism. But most people...even the real belly crawlers living in filth...or Brentwood...they don't want to be cynical. They just want something to believe in."

"And that'd be you."

"Why not me?"

"You've been working those people outside for what, a day? They've already spilled blood in your name. You are nothing but Bernie Madoff with wings."

"So I'm a fake? Do you have any idea how much pan-cake makeup and soft lighting it took to get God to work a rope line? He hated it. and, you know, humans sense that. So they prayed harder and longer and fought more wars in his name. And for what?! So they could die of Malaria? Leukemia? And all the while, blaming themselves! 'Oh, if only I'd been more prayerful, God would have loved me! God would have saved me!'. You know what?! God didn't even know their name! But I do. Because I've walked among them. And I can save them."

"Sure you can. So long as your mug is in every bible and 'what would Metatron do?' is on ev ery bumper."

"And? What, are you blaming me for giving them what they want, giving them a brand they can believe in?"

"I'm blaming you for Kevin! I'm blaming you for taking Cas' grace. Hell, I'm blaming you for te Cubs not winning the World Series in the last 100 freaking years." Dean says as he unwraps the blade. "Whatever it is, I'm blaming you."

"The first blade. Nasty piece of work, isn't she? Okay, let's say you win, Dean, and I die. What's the world left with then, hmm? A heard of panty-waisted angels and you? Half out of your mind with lord knows what pumping through those veins?"

"Yeah, you see, the only thing you've said that went into my ear was that you die."

"Ohh. Fine. We'll fight. I don't know what you expect is gonna come of all this. Unless...that's why you're stalling. Because you know nothing's gonna come of this unless your pals succeed upstairs. Well here's a news flash...Humpty and Dumpty are starring in their very own version of 'Locked up Abroad: Heaven' right now."

The fight then starts, and Dean manages to punch him in the face.

"Wow, that big blade and that...douchy tribal tat sure gave you some super juice. Whoo! Okay."

"Where is it?" Cas asks Ingrid about the tablet, with Hannah holding a knife to her throat. "Remove her."

Dean tries again to fight Metatron, but he's still too powerful.

"So, you took Abaddon's scalp, then you figured you'd take on little old nebbishy me. What could go wrong? And you're powered by the bone of a jackass, and it is just awesome right? Here's a tip...next time, try to be powered by the word of God."

By this time, Sam has come to and we were hurrying to get to Dean to try and help.

"Come on Sam, we have to get there quicker."

We're at the encampment, but of course the homeless people stop us for a moment, while the fight between Dean and Metatron continues.

"Stay back."

"All of you."

"Stay back! Where's Metatron!"

They tell us where he is, which was the building and we hurry inside the best we could. Cas as well found the tablet and Dean got the blade back into his possession, but it was too late as everything just happened to go in slow motion as Sam and I watched Dean get stabbed by Metatron with an angel blade.

"Noooo!"

"Deannn! Nooo!"

I wanted to drop to my knees right there and just cry, but if Dean was gonna die, I wanted to be by his side, not away from him. Cas had indeed destroyed the tablet, but it was initially too late. Sam and I had rushed over to Dean as quickly as we could, while Metatron stood there just smiling about the whole thing. Just then there was thunder and shaking.

"You son of a bitch." I growl, and Sam goes to kill Metatron, but he disappears.

"Well played Castiel. Obviously you and Gadreel managed to turn a few dead enders against me."

"Gadreel is dead."

"Ah. So Gadreel bites the dust. And the angel tablet...arguably the most powerful instrument in the history of the universe...is in pieces, and for what again? Oh, that's right...to save Dean Winchester. That was your goal, right? I mean, you draped yourself in the flag of Heaven, but ultimately, it was all about saving one human, right? Well, guess what. He's dead too. And you're sitting in my chair."

"Sammy, Brooke, you got to get out of here before he comes back."

"Shh. Shh. Shh. Shh. Shut up. Shut up."

At this point I had broken down into tears, and they wouldn't stop.

"Just save your energy alright. Oh, man. We'll stop the bleeding. We'll get you a doctor or...or I'll find a spell. You're gonna be okay."

"Listen to me. It's better this way."

"What?"

"It's making me into something I don't want to be."

"Don't worry about the mark. We'll figure out the mark later. Just hold on okay?"

"Wait. Brooke, I'm sorry. I haven't been the best I could be to you lately..."

"Shh...I know. It's okay. I forgive you for everything. Just let us help you okay?" I say through my tears, before we help Dean up.

"You'll never get away with this."

"Get away with what? You told a silly story to a group of less-than-believers. I'll clean up your mess in an hour."

"You give our brothers and sisters far too little credit. They will soon learn that you have been playing them."

"And then? They will do nothing because they are frightened little sheep following my crook wherever it leads. And where I'm taking them, back to our rightful place atop this mountain of human shame and excrement...when that happens, trust me, they're not gonna care how they got there."

"What happened to you being okay with this?"

"We lied."

"Ain't that a bitch."

"You know, while you could never quite pull it together Castiel, while you're sitting here with your grace slowly burning away and your reputation long extinguished? No curiosity. You didn't read enough. You never learned how to tell a good story."

"But you did." Cas says, before looking over at the PA system, Metatron realizing that everyone heard him.

That's when he's held captive by who were once his followers.

"Guys. Hold up. Hold up. I got to say something to you. To both of you."

"What?"

"I'm proud of us. And Brooke, I was going to...ask you to marry me." He says before he breathes his final breath and then he's gone.

I couldn't believe it, he was going to ask me to marry him, and now I'm never going to have the chance to say yes to him. I lost a future husband and Sam lost a brother...again. Sam held Dean to him and just cried, I wrapped my arms around both of them and I cried into their shoulders. After taking Metatron captive, they locked him up in the jail.

"You're doing the right thing...letting him live. It's what a leader would do."

"I'm no leader, Hannah. I never was. I just want to be an angel."

"And your grace? What will you do about that? You will die if you don't replenish it."

Sam and I had made it back to the bunker with Dean's body...we had laid him down in our bedroom on the bed. Sam had left the room and started drinking to cope with Dean's death. I stayed in the room a few extra minutes and just grieved, crying over his dead body so to speak, until I couldn't take being in there anymore. I finally had left and gone to the room I took when Dean and I fought the other day and I just ended up crying myself to sleep. Sam had gone to the dungeon and saw the stuff that Dean left when he had summoned Crowley before everything that had just happened.

"Damn it Crowley. You got him into this mess. You will get him out...or so help me, God."

He then summons Crowley, and he does appear in the doorway of the room, sitting in a chair by the door.

"Your brother, bless his soul, is summoning me as I speak. Make a deal, bring you back. It's exactly what I was talking about, isn't it? It's all become so...expected. You have to believe me. When I suggested you take on the mark of Cain, I didn't know this was going to happen. Not really. I mean, I might not have told you the entire truth. But I never lied. I never lied Dean. That's important. It's fundamental. But...there is one story about Cain that I might have...forgotten to tell you. Apparently he, too was willing to accept death, rather than becoming the killer the mark wanted him to be. So he took his own life with the blade. He died. Except, as rumor has it, the mark never quite let go. You can understand why I never spoke of this. Why set hearts aflutter at mere speculation? It wasn't until you summoned me...no, it wasn't truly until you left that cheeseburger uneaten..." Crowley trails off as he puts the blade into Dean's hand. "...that I began to let myself believe. Maybe miracles do come true. Listen to me Dean Winchester, what you're feeling right now...it's not death. It's life...a new kind of life. Open your eyes Dean. See what I see. Feel what I feel. And let's go take a howl at that moon."

And with that, his eyes open, but they're all black.


End file.
